Talk show host in dock over blackmail charges

(CNS): Local talk show host Sandra Hill appeared in Summary Court Tuesday, facing a charge of blackmail and another of attempting to obstruct justice. The owner of Cayman Marl Road is accused of bribing businessman John Felder during a defamation lawsuit the two were fighting in 2021. The case can only be heard in Grand Court, so it was formally transmitted by Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn, and Hill was bailed to appear on 14 April.

Defence attorney Amelia Fosuhene, who represented Hill, accused the prosecution of failing to provide adequate evidence to support the accusation and gave notice to the crown of her intention to schedule a dismissal hearing.

Hill has not yet answered the charges against her, but she recently told CNS that the accusation is based on an email sent to Felder’s lawyers in an effort to settle proceedings between the parties. Hill went on to win the case against the former car dealer.

Hill claims that this latest charge against her is based purely on a short statement from Felder, and her attorney described the prosecution’s case as flimsy. Fosuhene accused prosecutors of dragging her client into court on a serious charge and then failing to present a substantial case to support it.

Writing on her own site, Hill said there was no merit to the allegations, and it was absurd that attempts to settle a legal dispute based on advice from a judge could be considered bribery. “But it only adds fuel to my position that someone continues to have an axe to grind with me,” she said.