‘Road rage’ killer walks free after jury acquits
(CNS): Bryan Roy Welcome (42) was found not guilty of murdering his grocery business associate, Omar Ryan (34), last summer when he ran over him in a warehouse parking lot following an altercation. After less than four hours of deliberation, the jury returned the unanimous not guilty verdict to murder and confirmed they had also acquitted Welcome of manslaughter. Welcome had admitted driving over and killing Ryan but had said it was in self-defence as Ryan had threatened him, and Welcome, who was in his car with his child, believed he had a gun.
The crown’s case was based largely on CCTV footage at the scene, where it was clear that Welcome had lined up his car to face Ryan just moments before he sped towards him, hitting him square on. Before that, Ryan had been standing slightly to the side of Welcome’s vehicle shouting and arguing over a debt of a few hundred dollars, the crown had said.
The prosecution had contended that when Welcome lined up his car, he was deliberately intending to hurt or kill Ryan, and continuing to drive, going right over him, after his former business associate had fallen to the ground was a deliberate act. All of this was compounded by the fact that when he did finally stop the vehicle, he walked over to where Ryan lay dying and kicked him.
When he took the stand in his own defence, Welcome had admitted that he was angry when he kicked the man. He said he had been in a fearful panic when he hit Ryan but didn’t realise that he had run over him until he stopped the car and got out, even though CCTV footage shows how he had not only knocked Ryan down but had dragged him along under the car and then ran over his body with his right rear wheel before he stopped the vehicle.
Welcome, who had his son in his car with him when he ran over Ryan, said he was struggling with confusing and mixed emotions at the time and had accepted that Ryan may not have had a gun and did not state when it was that he had seen a firearm.
Welcome called 911 when he realised that Ryan was injured, though he had no idea of the extent of his injuries. Ryan was taken to hospital, where he died an hour or so later on the night of 8 July last year, having sustained multiple blunt trauma and internal injuries, including heavy internal bleeding. The crown had said there was no evidence that the kick delivered by Welcome after he ran over Ryan contributed to his death.
As the jury delivered the not guilty verdict, Welcome wept profusely as the judge discharged the jury and told him he was free to go. Welcome has been in jail on remand since he was charged last year.
The trial had started originally in May, but a number of issues relating to scheduling had interrupted the proceedings on several occasions with a full two-week break for the jurors, during which time one of the twelve had died after what the judge had said was “an unfortunate accident”.
Justice Marlene Carter, who presided over the case, had asked them if their fellow juror’s death might affect their ability to concentrate on the case. But all of the remaining jurors said they were willing and able to continue with the trial.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
there needs to be some sort of IQ test to qualify as a juror. and the jurors in this case should be barred from ever participating in anything of national importance including voting.
This better get appealed by the DPP.
Sat on a few juries and I was just stunned at how foolish/stupid some jurors can be – common sense left at the door! It is very frustrating to serve on a jury.
How can a jury not find this man guilty and charge him with murder? This was done deliberately! This man meant to kill the victim. It is murder in the first degree. What is wrong with this jury? are they blind and deaf? Or were they intimidated and felt if they convicted the killer their life would be in danger too? Either way this is really outrageous! If that was a young Caymanian man though I am pretty sure they would have found him guilty and sent him to prison for life. This is just past ridiculous and I hope the prosecution appeals this verdict. This is not justice at all.
So he even kicked the victim after having run over him but the jury still considered him innocent. This has got to be the most tragic case of injustice I have come across for quite a while. Jury you sure got it wrong.
What a horrible shame that he hasn’t been given the death penalty and nothing less. Yes, he may have felt intimidated by Ryan’s threats to his life, yet you use your 2 ton machine to run him down in the front of your own child, then preceded to kick him in the head while he was on the verge of death. You’re sick, and wish you nothing good in life, mark my word karma will deal with you, kill someone over $50 tells me you’re not worth trying to help. Our Judicial System has once again failed us and the victim’s family our deepest prayers are with you and maybe going through the UN Courts in Hague might be an option in getting a new trial. Cayman is so corrupt and rigged by Jamaican Police Officers, XXXX. Also NO MORE WP for Jamaicans for the next 5 Years and that’s for Filipinos and all East Indians too. Cayman for Caymanians, enough of this stipidnes and incompetence.
Sorry what? Is it April?
so all you have to do is claim you was afraid for your life and you’re clear to murder people. got it.
As long as you are a Caymanian and the victim isnt.
Both Men are Jamaican.
Cayman look at where we are headed all because our leadership is compromised and mired down in corruption! In 1962 we opted for something better and look within a short spate of time we have destroyed that fateful and wise decision of our forefathers to follow a path to our own destruction.
Time to outsource the justice system to the UK? This sort of thing has happened enough times now to demonstrate that Caymanians are not able to run a justice system themselves.
its not Caymanians running the justice system in case you didn’t realize. The police prosecutors and Judges are all Jamaican, English or Bajan. Even the Attorney General is not Caymanian so its a fact that the Cayman islands justice system is already and has been for a long time outsourced.
LTD da unbozzler
Good point. However, half the problem in this instance is also to do with the jury pool which doesn’t seem fit for purpose or in any way interested in actually providing impartial verdicts. Time to reevaluate the system and look at effective non-jury based systems.
The Governor needs to step in here, otherwise we really will be a third world country. Our politicians will do nothing assuming they haven’t all gone to Singapore.
Can the freed killer be deported immediately? Pretty please with sugar on top.
Was his criminal past investigated? Too many are easing in and no research has been done.
not the first time we’re all astonished at Jury verdicts in Cayman. I wonder if its viable to have Jury Trials by zoom or similar, whereby the jurors are actually pulled from a large pool in the UK? its clear we have intimidation in this small village of Cayman. Regardless, you do wonder whether the Jury was properly isntructed by the Judge or whether the Crown properly charged the accused.
for murder, isn’t it as basic as intending to kill OR cause gbh? its clear that is satisfied here, the accused obviously intended super serious harm, and he did cause the harm.
did he please loss of control? that would have got him down to manslaughter, no acquittal., so he probably didn’t for that reason.
self defence?! the accused was clever enough to know this can get him off entirely if he can show it. But who can possibly believe that the force he used was even remotely reasonable or proportionate? No way. Just no way.
he must have a brilliant lawyer, or the Judge maybe missed a beat here, or the Jurors were intimidated.
this is a scandalous decision
XXXX this verdict is outrageous. it is clearly murder and at the very least manslaughter. Murder trials should not have local juries, I agree that they could be held by zoom or the jurors kept behind closed doors so the defendant does not know who they are.
So I guess that this means that the driver’s application for Cayman status will be approved in the next few days – seeing as he did nothing wrong – this country has gone to hell and our worthless politicians only chase after more Jamaican votes
8:01am. That is why BTE is in such a terrible state. Free groceries for Jamaican votes.
We’ve imported Jamaican economic dependents supporting Jamaican politicians dependent on their votes in BTE and BTW.
The irony is that theses same people are trying to turn us into the country they all ran from.
This was homicide, whether murder or manslaughter. The dead man no doubt had a family. They now know his killer walks free, amongst them, forever. That is a life sentence, but not for the killer. This is not justice.
wow! just wow! not even manslaughter.
Both parties were wrong, but you simply don’t use your car as a weapon. And this talk about not knowing whether Ryan had a gun or not is just a red herring. That is the very reason Welcome should have driven away—if only to protect his child. Not what a memory his child has to live with! And the regret that welcome himself will have to live with for the rest of his life.
Welcome should have been convicted at the very least of manslaughter. He made a conscious decision to run into Ryan. Very sad on the part of both men over a few dollars.
This is murder, at the very least this is manslaughter with GBH. This was a horrific and violent act, regardless of the possibility of the Defendant being ‘possibly’ in fear for his life.
Cayman needs better prosecutors and Crown Council representing our Country and that know how to apply the proper charges related to the crimes.
Acting in self defense using reasonable force is a complete defense. Was running the guy over with his car reasonable? Did he really feel like his life was in danger at that very moment to warrant him driving over the guy?
My opinion is the key element is whether the deceased had a gun (NO he did not) and was a gun pointing at him that very moment when he drove over him (NO gun pointed as it was not showing that on the camera) therefore the driver’s life was NOT in immanent risk of death 💀.
Therefore driving over him was excessive force by a lethal weapon (the car) on top of that he got out of the car after running him over and kicked him (at the very least assault by the kick).
Bryan Welcome could have easy drove away leave the scene and go to the police if he feared his life was in danger. Instead he decided to aim his car and kill the guy (caught on camera) then further kick him.
Conclusion: this verdict is outrageous. Bryan Welcome should have been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Yes because of an emotional argument over just a few hundred bucks which further magnifies Bryan Welcome’s irrational mindset!
Cayman Islands is going downhill via these primitive 3rd world acts of violence and after reading years of these news articles should move forward with immigration blocking all new Jamaican nationals to Cayman indefinitely. This is crazy sh*t! Only bright light is he kicked instead used a machete at end like most of these crimes seem to have in common. Ridiculous!
serious question, is it possible to have a jury where the jurors are anonymous?
Cayman is too damn small. he did this to a friend/colleague/acquaintance, with his son in the car. what’s to stop him from running every single one of the jurors or their families over or hurting them?
Check his criminal background. Is this his only incident here? What about other parts of the world.
Jurors should be drawn from a pool of expatriates ( NOT Jamaicans) who will be unknown to any local accused, and therefore unbiased in their decisions.
How can you put aside being at school with, friends with, family to, neighbors with, and generally in the same social circles as the accused when making a guilty or not guilty decision.?
& you no what he kill the guy & get off free he is going to do it again he is a killer.send him back to his country its in his blood.
“Life is cheap” is indeed in their blood, and no politician will stand up to clear Cayman of this invasive scum from Jamaica, for fear of losing voters in Bodden Town or GTC…
These politicians are the Enablers who are indifferent to the downward spiral of life in Cayman.
And AGAIN, a jury in the Cayman Islands acquits when they should convict. And it will be these same Caymanian jurors that will be complaining about how Cayman isn’t what it used to be, or there is too much crime, or our society is being eroded, yada, yada. Caymanians, we are doing it to ourselves! I’ve been on juries, and I was sickened every time a fellow juror would “feel bad” about how the children of the accused would not have a father if he were convicted, or how the mother would have to raise the kids alone. There was always some excuse to not convict that had nothing to do with the crime or the charges. Caymanians really need to wake the hell up.
2:56pm Is it just true caymanians or those new ones?
Not just the fruits and veg were rotten in this case. The entire circumstances, jury and verdict are rotten to the core. The jury members had to be deaf dumb and blind or mentally and morally challenged not to rule this a vehicular homicide.
I hope the prosecution is appealing this verdict! I’m in complete shock and disbelief that one can run over someone, then get out and kick a dying man in the head while shouting “I will kill you” all on CCTV footage (all provided to the court / jury) and then the jury acquits him of all charges and declines any lesser charge also??? WTH???
Told you all it was Buju did it!
I’m going to run over my husband and claim I didn’t see him. I will get his life insurance and his assets. If I divorce him I will be lucky to get 40% of everything.
Well at least there wasn’t a machete used in this attack.
Running over someone for a few hundred bucks! Mind blowing lunacy! Sad and pathetic
Jamaicans don’t leave Jamaica for a better life, they flee to countries like Cayman to commit crimes and get away with it. Now with this verdict, expect an increase of them to our shores…
Hence the woke brigade crying out for a new $200million resort prison to make their stay more comfortable.
Look at who is pushing for this and what they have to gain.
Ah … the ignorance of a CAYMANIAN jury … since the victim wasn’t Caymanian, I knew the outcome from the day he ran him over…
#MakeItMakeSence
The jury has just proven to the violent citizens they can literally get away with murder! They have opened the door to even more brazen attacks. If someone can get caught on CCT without consequences ALL THE FEAR IS GONE!!
Another jury trial where an alleged murderer (or at least manslaughter) walks free allegedly because of the close connections on this island. A car is a murder weapon if chosen to be used as such. Common sense prevailing? Sounds like the jury didnt want to deal with any repurcussions. Why does no one see that Cayman is a village and jury trials are not just? Stop jury trials for these high profile cases or bring the jury in from another country!
I just don’t get it. Can the judge not step in on account of a clear miscarriage of justice?
Sad day for Justice in our Country.
Cayman’s version of Florida Stand your ground law. It wasn’t right then and it isn’t right now.
Based on the outcome of this case verses a case of you chopping or shooting an intruder who enters your house with intentions, it is easier to get away with murder than actually defending you home and family!!!
I lost faith and respect for the RCIP a long time ago, the same is now true for the Cayman judicial system.
What has my country really come to?
I am shocked by this acquittal.
Rumour has it the victim was not a guy you want to mess with so maybe that led credibility to the fear/self defence. But revving the car seems pretty obviously intentional!!
In this case, it is not the system that is a JOKE, it was the jurors on the bench.
Jamaican victim, Caymanian driver, Caymanian jury.
Jamaican driver and victim.
since most “Caymanians” are now from Jamaica jury was probably was from there too. Can’t even get elected these days without know-towing to Jamaican voters.
Both men are Jamaican.
Lmao you really thought you had something worth posting with this absolutely incorrect foolishness huh?
I am appalled by this. Acting in self-defense should not include excessive force, which I think this is. Why do I think this? He ran the man over twice. The man was on the ground, he stood up, and collapsed. Welcome then returns on foot to threaten him that he will KILL Ryan, and he kicks a collapsed Ryan in the head.
Someone please please explain to me HOW this is self-defense? If he thought the deceased had a GUN, why would he return on foot?
Agree. The logical place for him to drive if he was afraid, and particularly with a child on board was directly to the police station, not a warehouse car park.
Can the CCTV footage be released for the public to gain a better understanding of what happened here?
Who cares what he thinks, it’s on camera. Atleast a manslaughter charge.
Wtf is this, we need a new system.
Need better people!
The public deserves to understand the Jury’s rationale of letting someone who commits an unforgivable act like this freely walk amongst the the population and our children.
– Impartial or conflicted jury members?
– Incompetence on the part of the police and/or prosecution?
– Corruption?
Something doesn’t smell right here…
The public doesn’t deserve rationale for anything. Like it or not, this is how our justice system works. I disagree with the verdict but this is simply the way the system works.
You don’t deserve special knowledge or insight just because a verdict wasn’t what you wanted. The crown has/had options, perhaps they could do well with your counsel.
We should at least be able to see the court transcript. FOI perhaps?
It would be great if further details of this were divulged so that the public can understand the reasoning as to why the jury would inexplicably absolve this man of any and all wrong doing in this heinous situation.
If someone followed you to a remote location and approached your car with your child next to you in an aggressive and life threatening manner, would you just sit there and not defend yourself?
This comment section is quick to judge with only having a small snippet of the trial. Self defense is an important right which I hope our population values, especially with the ever increasing crime our Island is burdened with.
@ 21/06/2024 at 9:38 am – it doesn’t give you the right to drive over someone twice & kick them in the head. It gives you the right to drive away, not over.
Would you reposition your car so you a clear line at him, not around him, rev up, hit him, then drive over him, then get out and kick him in the head? Instead of just driving away, or if you are fearful, lock yourself in the car and call the police. Defending yourself seems to have a different definition in your book.
You go to the police station you don’t run the man over!
Jamaicans know better than to go there and snitch on other better-connected Jamaicans to their “alleged” co-conspirators in the JDF FKA RCIPS
Well then, at least go drop the kid off at a safe place first BEFORE driving to a remote location. SMH.
If he was so concerned about his child he wouldn’t have put the child in that situation in the first place! Now he has that horrible memory to live with.
Drive away with your child!
If you were frightened and had a child in the car why would you even drive to a remote location and not to a police station?
This is justice and the law of the jungle. We all need to be able to settle disagreements how we see fit.
It’s gonna be like Marl Road in the comments here.
We’re going to see a lot of opinions from people who weren’t part of the jury, or have any legal knowledge beyond watching Suits.
You don’t need a law degree to wonder how the hell the CPS failed to get any kind of conviction when there is a video of the man being deliberately run over. Self defense? So as long as one can convince a jury you think they have a gun you can kill them. Wow. Just wow.
Always go for a jury in Cayman. Guaranteed to let you off scot free.
This place is fully lawless.
Umm – depends on who you are.
and d not forget race as well.
Yup. If he was a white man he’d have gotten life, no questions asked.
I think I’d rather go to prison than live my life with my son who knows exactly what I did and possibly lied to get away with it. 😔
What a JOKE our system is.
Nothing wrong with the system in this one – not one of those cases where the prosecution drop the ball or the evidence isn’t clear. Ask the jury how they could find him not guilty.
this system is broken
People are the broken ones!
So this boils down to Welcome being too stupid to understand his actions and there consequences and the jury just agreeing.
I’m going to go run someone over and claim they had a gun. Simple.
Glove didn’t fit?