‘Mentally ill’ man jailed for 12 years for killing man with metal pipe, wounding two others

A “mentally ill” man was sentenced to just over 12 years in prison for striking a man to death with a piece of metal pipe, and for wounding and assaulting two other people with the same weapon.

Cornelius “Power” Kennedy of Lowmans Hill, Kingstown, appeared at High Court #2 before Justice Richard Floyd on Tuesday March 26, 2024, for sentencing in regard to the charges of manslaughter, wounding, and assault causing actual bodily harm he faced.

Kennedy pleaded guilty that on November 2, 2021, around 6:20 p.m in the vicinity of the Kingstown Vegetable Market he caused the death of Lanceworth Wilson, 53, of Paul’s Avenue by striking him about his head with a piece of metal pipe. Kennedy also pleaded guilty to wounding another person in Kingstown, and committing assault against a third person causing actual bodily harm.

During Kennedy’s sentencing, Justice Floyd said that November 2, was an awful day of mayhem and violence carried out by Kennedy on random and unsuspecting victims.

However, he said that the court is satisfied that the defendant was suffering with a mental disorder at the time of the offence, and that witness statements confirm that members of the public were aware of Kennedy’s condition before the incident occurred as he is referred to as a “crazy man.” Kennedy is also well known to the staff at the Mental Health Centre from several admissions.

For the offence of manslaughter, Justice Floyd began with a custodial sentence of 14 years. He increased the sentence by two years after considering the use of a weapon- a metal pipe, to commit the offence.

“The court also notes that there was no premeditation in committing the act as it was a random act of violence which was committed by someone who was…in an angry and agitated state,” Justice Floyd continued.

As a result, the court reduced the sentence by six months resulting in a notional sentence of 15 years and six months. There were no aggravating factors of the offender. Mitigating of the offender was that Kennedy “feels bad” about what happened, though the court is not convinced that Kennedy is genuinely remorseful over the offence.

The court also noted that Kennedy was “somewhat helpful” to the authorities in the police investigation, and the significant history of mental health issues that Kennedy suffers from.

“The conditions under which prisoners on remand with mental health issues serve their time in this jurisdiction is also taken into account by the court…” the judge continued, adding that all these factors contributed to the reduction of the sentence by one year and six months to 14 years imprisonment. Kennedy received a one-third deduction for his guilty plea, resulting in a final sentence of 12 years and eight months.

For the offence of wounding, Justice Floyd said that the victim in this case was “seriously injured. “

“His facial bones were fractured and he suffered with residual long-lasting injuries including visual impairment. He lost his livelihood…”, the judge added.

After considering the aggravating and mitigating factors of this offence and the offender, which were of similar nature to the manslaughter offence, as well as deducting one-third from the sentence for his guilty plea, Kennedy was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment to run concurrently with his earlier sentence.

As for the offence of assault causing actual bodily harm, the court considered the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offence and the offender, which were of similar nature to the previous offences, as well as Kennedy’s guilty plea. The court then sentenced Kennedy to eight months imprisonment to run alongside the two previous sentences.

The two years, three months and 24 days Kennedy spent on remand were also deducted from his total sentence.