Suspected killer may not be fit to plead
William Ian Rivers
(CNS): William Ian Rivers (39), who was charged with the murder of Mark Travis “Hubba” Seymour (39) following a shooting at Super C’s on Watercourse Road in January last year, may not be fit to enter a plea to the charges against him. Rivers reportedly shot Seymour after arriving at the West Bay restaurant on a push bike armed with a loaded .357 Sturm Ruger revolver as a result of a dispute between the men over a woman. Rivers then barricaded himself in his family home, holding some members of his family hostage.
A stand-off with the police lasted several hours before he was talked out of the property by a local senior officer and arrested. He has been on remand ever since, almost 18 months, but he has not yet answered the murder and other charges because his mental health remains in question.
Rivers appeared in Grand Court Friday and a special hearing has now been set for next month, where his ability to understand and answer the charges will be discussed before a judge, who will make a decision about whether or not the local man is capable of pleading one way or another to the allegations or if he would be capable of standing trial.
