Union Island killer to be sentenced on Valentine’s Day

A 40-YEAR-OLD Union Island man will be sentenced in the High Court on February, 14 for the stabbing death of another man in 2019.

Denroy Tittle appeared in High Court #1 on Thursday, February, 9, where his lawyer, Israel Bruce provided plea mitigation on his behalf.

Tittle will be sentenced for the stabbing death of 35-year-old Richardo Stewart of Union Island.

During mitigation, Bruce said that the prisoner pleaded guilty to the offence of murder; that at the time of the offence Tittle was living on Union Island and worked as a bus conductor.

Bruce outlined that Tittle attended the Union Island Primary School and does not have a secondary education.

For most part, the facts surrounding the matter which were submitted by the crown are “consistent for most parts,” the lawyer told the court.

Bruce highlighted that Tittle indicated that he went to make a purchase at a business place where he met the deceased. He called for items and when it appeared that he did not have enough money to pay, the deceased made a comment and there was an exchange of words between the two men. However, it was said that Tittle was not paying attention

at the time when he was supposed to be paying the money.

The lawyer said that the facts differ slightly where certain words were uttered by Tittle to the deceased, and on the other side of the matrix, it was said by Tittle that the deceased man, having raised his voice also raised his hand at him.

He submitted that the offence was not one that was pre- meditated but it was a consequence of a sudden “rush of blood in the spur of the moment on the utterance of words.”

Bruce noted that the deceased died as a result of a single stab wound. He said Tittle had a knife on him, and following the exchange, several attempts were made at stabbing, but a single stab wound caused the death of Stewart.

The lawyer told the court that Tittle has expressed remorse, and he asked that his age be taken into consideration. He also asked that Tittle be given a full 1/3 discount for his early guilty plea even though he did not do so at the first opportunity due to circumstances that he explained.

Bruce also said that his client did not waste the court’s time and he wished that he did not take the life of Stewart but “he must now face the consequences of his action…”.

He also asked the court to take into consideration the time which Tittle has spent on remand; he has been behind bars on remand since June 19, 2019. The lawyer also said that both the defence and the prosecution differed when it came to the different paragraphs of the sentencing guidelines of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court to help determine a starting point of the sentence.

However he also highlighted aspects of the sentencing guidelines where both sides are in sync.

Having heard the mitigating submission, Justice Brian Cottle adjourned the matter to Tuesday, February, 14 for sentencing.