Elliott’s family say he was murdered
(CNS): Family members of Harry Elliott Jr, who was gunned down and killed during a robbery gone wrong at a gambling shop in George Town last year, say the verdict of manslaughter was not what they had hoped for. They believe their loved one was a victim of murder. In a statement sent to CNS, the family said they were, however, grateful to the jury and the crown, as defendants Justin Kyle Jackson and Eric Brian Williams Soto have still been held partly responsible for their actions.
Harry Elliott, also known as Mr Harry and Junior, was a retired prison officer, but there is no indication that he was a target during the foiled and tragic incident. He was a victim of either an accidental discharge, which Jackson had claimed in his defence, or a person in the robbers’ way.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Elliott had gone to try his luck with just a few dollars at the shop on School Road, run by retired police officer Keron Cupid. After buying numbers, he made his way to the door to leave, but at that exact moment, Jackson and Soto were waiting at the doorway to come in and rob the shop.
CCTV shows Jackson pulling and then cranking a gun as he stepped through the door, which Cupid had opened to allow Elliott to leave. Seconds later, Jackson stepped back into the small foyer and collided with his partner in crime, Soto. But with the gun still pointing into the shop, a shot went off and Elliott was hit in the head at close range.
All of the other customers and the owner of the illegal shop fled through a back door, leaving Elliott on the ground. It was not made clear at the trial who called 911, but the emergency services arrived soon afterwards and took Elliott to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Elliott’s family said he had lived an exemplary life, giving more than 30 years of his life to the prison service. After retirement, he had moved on to live a quiet, peaceful life.
“He was a routine individual and valued two core things in life, health and savings, and encouraged everyone around him to do the same,” his family said. “He was not an avid gambler and was quite conservative and strategic with how he spent his money.”
The family said their reaction to the verdict when it was delivered last week in court has been misinterpreted in some places; while they had sadly predicted the verdict of manslaughter, they were still hoping the jury would have found it was murder. They also offered their appreciation to the crown, which had presented a case for murder based largely on the CCTV evidence.
Despite Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Candia James-Malcolm’s best efforts to cross-examine Soto, whose answers were very hard to believe and made no sense, the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on murder as required under the law and therefore defaulted to manslaughter.
Despite their disappointment with the outcome, the family nevertheless said that they could not “thank the crown enough for all of their hard work on this case fighting on Junior’s behalf”.
The statement continued, “Although it is not the verdict we presumed or hoped for… that being what it was, a murder, we are grateful that there was some accountability for both Jackson and Soto’s actions. This has been an extremely difficult and traumatic time for our family, and court has amplified these feelings.
“We live with the fact that this will not bring Junior back, however, we are wishful that in the future a full serving of justice will be explored. That said, no sentence can amount to the grief we continue to feel over Junior’s murder. It is totally impossible for Junior to be with us in flesh but his spirit remains in our hearts,” the family added.
They thanked members of the community as well as Junior’s former colleagues for “their unwavering support”. The family said they would “continue to fight for Junior’s justice and let everyone know how loved he is”.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Elliotts family? His name was Harry. A good man shot down in cold blood by fkards
Served on jury duty twice. Was proud to do it as part of my civic duty. Never again.
The system is beyond broken. Jurors are treated with contempt. Judges are inconsistent on instructions and sometimes no instructions to jury.
The pool of jurors is a joke. Don’t show up on time. Don’t declare conflicts. Don’t pay attention. Don’t have a clue. Hell most have their mind made up based on CMR before the trial begins!
Use a panel of 2 or 3 judges. Has to be better.
Also if you are 60yrs and over you are not allowed to serve Jury Duties. I consider this to be injudicious as they are many, many smart, intellectual and knowledgeable 60yrs and over who could do a better job. Sometimes I feel that when you attain the age of 60yrs and over you are discriminated in a lot of entities in Cayman. I am 65yrs old with minimal health issues and would be happy to serve as a juror. Get real Cayman, wake up and smell the roses.
70
It is 70, but if judges can sit beyond that age why not jurors? I am Caymanian, with time to serve & a very competent brain and yet I cannot. Age discrimination?
So has the shop keeper or shop owner been arrested for running an illegal operation? I’d guess not.
Well, he does have CINICO for life, but with inflation he needs to do something to supplement his government pension, and what better way than through using contacts previously developed during his time working as a policeman?
Clear case of murder. However jury duties and the selection are of poor standard in Cayman. Anyone can be a juror once you are on the Voters List. In my opinion this is flagrant. Majority of countries, jurors are profiled and vetted, their professional status is also taken into account. Cayman is a small place, everybody knows somebody who are connected to victim and accused. People are anti-police , anti-court sentencing and uses this forum to express their sentiments. Until the Jury Law is revised, cases like these will be watered down. Even though manslaughter verdicts was prevailed the family was still fortunate to have a guilty verdict. A family is still in mourning over a great loss . Rest in Peace our beloved Harry Elliott Jr.
Time to put an end to jury trials in the Cayman Islands, unless the jurors are imported going forward.
He was murdered. Manslaughter with a gun carries life still. Just wait nuh. Jeesas is watching
Give him 18 for the manslaughter and 10 for the gun.
The disturbing thing here is that two jurors wouldn’t even vote to convict for manslaughter, let alone murder.
There is literally no realistic or honest basis on which they could have reached that conclusion.
The reason is entirely their own. This is the justice system that we subscribe to and it will not always be to our liking but it IS the process.
But the jury pool should be every resident in the island. This would broaden the peer group and lessen the ‘he’s my aunts, daughters, husband, cousins child. I know he’s innocent’.
No mention either as to the owner of the establishment “a retired police officer” facing any charges for running an illegal gambling numbers outlet? Ps: I’m not opposed to gambling, just that some are allowed to do so while others are vilified!
Not just a retired police officer. A retired Senior Police Officer. An unlawful gaming shop frequented by other members of law enforcement. No enforcement. No revocation of Business Licenses. It just looks like we are corrupt, right?
RIP Harry.
RIP Uncle Junior. We will never forget you. Love and miss you always.
Justice did not prevail despite video evidence.