Jury took minutes to decide verdicts in domestic killings
(CNS): Given the overwhelming evidence, it took an inquest jury less than ten minutes Friday to arrive at verdicts in the tragic killings of Nichelle Anna-Kay Thomas (21) and Devon Roy Campbell (39) in February 2014. The seven members of the jury unanimously found that Thomas had been unlawfully killed and her violent partner had committed suicide.
During a week-long inquest the jury heard harrowing details of the case, in which Campbell killed his girlfriend with a machete at the house where she worked before hanging himself in the yard from a tree.
Coroner Eileen Nervik in her summing up for jury had pointed to the considerable evidence to support the jury’s verdicts, given witness accounts of the “turbulent and violent” relationship in which Campbell was “jealous, abusive and controlling “ and had threatened to kill Thomas and himself on more than one occasion.
The jury heard that Thomas had suffered considerable violence at the hands of her boyfriend and the police had been called to their apartment on numerous occasions after Campbell had assaulted her, including on one occasion with a screwdriver. Neighbours had also sheltered and helped her when she was being attacked.
Witnesses had detailed the extreme abuse they had seen and heard, including the threats Campbell made to set Thomas on fire and kill himself.
Although the police had been called to the couple’s home in Bodden Town on many occasions, Thomas had persistently chosen not to press charges. On the last occasion when the police were called, just over two weeks before Campbell killed her, she had agreed to go to the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, but although a neighbour had offered to take her, she never went to the shelter for protection. She did however separate from Campbell and made plans to leave Cayman for her native Jamaica.
But Campbell would not accept the break-up, the jury heard. He persisted in trying to contact her and witnesses had seen him stalking his ex-girlfriend. On the day he took her life before taking his own, he had gone to the place where she worked in Bodden Town, taking his machete and rope from his place of work.
The couple’s bodies were found by the homeowner at the house where Thomas was a caregiver to an elderly patient.
Pathology reports concluded that Thomas, whose body was found in a closet, had died from multiple chop wounds from Campbell’s machete found at the scene. The fatal blow was a chop wound to the left side of her neck, which was so severe it had severed her artery, vein and spinal cord.
Campbell’s body was found hanging by the rope he had taken from his employer’s storage shed, where he was a farm worker, from a tree outside the room where he had killed Thomas. There was no other evidence of a third party being involved in his death, with no wounds other than those on his neck from the rope he had used to take his own life.
Further evidence of the suicide, the jury heard, was that Campbell had left telephone and text messages for members of his family asking them to take care of his children in Jamaica shortly before he hanged himself.
I have repeatedly said that as a mandatory condition of police training they should have to take a basic course in Cayman civil and criminal law! Many officers do not know half the laws they are paid to enforce… in addition, learning to research the law, compare laws and review comparable or associated laws should also be a part of police training. How can we continue to pay police officers to enforce laws that they themselves do not understand or even know exist???
Why has it taken two years for this affair to come to an inquest? The Coroner’s Law is a joke and invariably misused.
In the UK, on whose legal system Cayman law and practice is based, any unexplained death is reported to the coroner immediately either by the police or the doctor attending and the coroner opens an inquest the same or the following day. He may then adjourn the proceedings to await police reports but the process does get underway. It has happened that a coroner’s jury has decided a certain person who was not prosecuted was, in fact, responsible for a death. The police are then obliged to investigate accordingly.
I agree that the Cayman system is certainly not like U.K. My friend Westmore Walker was found in the sea in December and they decided that he drowned – no inquest has been carried out and no-one questioned about his last known movements etc. They say they are still investigating – maybe they are – if its taken nearly 2 years in this particular case to find an answer thn we’ll see. I wonder if its because he is a Jamaican – I get the feeling there is a bias towards them in the Cayman Islands.
Has anyone else noticed that as soon as their is a criminal issue some people always find a way to blame Jamaicans or those of Jamaican origin or whose great grandma 29 generations ago may have seen Jamaica whilst sailing here? Couldn’t possibly be a cayman problem, no way. Northwards population tells a different story.
Are you really that mentally incompetant ?? No one brought up a nationality but you …. the criminal in this case IS JAMAICAN and so was the poor young lady (victim)
Below is the timeline of the continuing BS when it comes to Violence against Women.
-Nov 25, 2006
…..From the HRC’s perspective, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women provides an opportunity to emphasise that violence against women also constitutes a violation of the rights and freedoms of women, which either impairs or nullifies women’s enjoyment of these human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The HRC’s Deputy Chair, Vaughan Carter, further noted that “With a view to improving women’s rights generally, the HRC would also like to affirm its support for the decision to draft local legislation that will expressly prohibit discrimination against women. We hope that once this is brought into law, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) can be extended to the Cayman Islands.”
October 25,2010
THE PROTECTION FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW, 2010
(LAW 33 OF 2010)
..The bill also empowers the court to issue protection, occupation, tenancy and ancillary orders. ”
“…“… We are casting our net wide to ensure that some of the most vulnerable persons in our society, such as children, the elderly and physically and mentally disabled persons, are protected,” Mr. Adam said.”
“…The Protection from Domestic Violence Bill 2010 enhances the protective remedies available to victims and expands the definition of domestic violence and who is offered protection under the law, Mr. Adam said.”
“..During Friday’s debate he said Mrs. Scott-Roberts “did not die in vain” because her death had prompted a series of events that led to this bill being created.”
-November 25, 2014
Cayman Islands ‘ Minister speaks out for elimination of violence against women….”Government has a responsibility to keep people safe and the anti-violence legal framework in our nation is strong and progressive. “… I urge you all to join me in considering the ways in which we can challenge the structures which perpetuate gender-based violence, enact positive change and eliminate violence in our Islands. We owe it to our women and girls and also to our men and boys.”
These organizations have failed to protect Nichelle Anna-Kay Thomas from the barbaric murder:
Department of Children and Family Services; the Department of Counselling Services; the Family Resource Centre; the RCIPS; the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, the Department of Community Rehabilitation, CAYS Foundation, and the Legal Befrienders.
Friends and neighbors.
Violence is violence and not trademarked to a nationality!
I guess the police could have also forced the young lady to press charges and go against her wishes. And the neighbor who offered her a ride to the center should’ve dragged her against her will as well.
Come on, the outcome is unfortunate but there’s only so much persons can do.
Charges should not be up to the victim to decide. Otherwise they never file for fear of reprisal, in the event the assailant is not convicted.
“Pressing charges” is a figment of TV writers imagination. Being unable to go ahead with a trial because of statements withdrawn by victims is often the real problem, the DPP would want to go ahead but has no evidence, if the victims account is the main evidence that is to be used in court. There should be zero tolerance for domestic violence, incidents reported should be investigated in the proper way by the police and DPP office should decide whether to charge or not, using evidence gathered of bruising, injuries, or any other evidence considered relevant, which. Might include evidence of ongoing situations, with lots of calls to the police from victim and for example neighbours. All to often women and men in this situation fear for their lives by giving evidence. It is up to the state to recognise this and be the protectors by pressing ahead with prosecutions regardless of withdrawn statements etc. At the same time there need to be refuges where those who suffer at the hands of abusers can have some security. On such a small Island a difficult thing to do, but unless such measures are in place, domestic violence will continue and victims will suffer in silence until something as terrible as this happens again.
The law allows the police to bring charges in domestic violence cases even if the victim says he or she does not want to press charges. They can do so if they see bruises or believe the victim is in serious threat of harm. In this case, the police had enough evidence to bring him to court before he had the chance to kill her. They need to know their own laws and powers of enforcement!
Dear all, the police CANNOT ARREST an offender in such a situation if there are NO VISIBLE INJURIES and the victim refuses to cooperate and make a statement. This is a fact. In the prior situations in this case when the police responded I see no indication the woman had visible injuries – both based on reporting here and in the Compass. In all these situations she told the cops she didn’t want him arrested. They couldn’t have arrested him anyway, based on all the coverage I’ve read. Maybe they could have arrested him later, who knows, but only after an investigation and a full case — all of which probably would have come too late to change anything. The bottom line here is, sad as it is, this woman took no measures to protect herself. I’m not blaming the victim, really, but only she knew just how bad it really was. She wouldn’t go to the Crisis Centre even though the last cop who visited her “made arrangements”, according to the articles, to go. I’m a woman and I’ve been in an abusive relationship in the past, and I know for a fact that only YOU can make the decision to save yourself. We need more education for women, and women need to take responsibility for their own safety, blaming the cops and the system and God knows everyone else will do nothing. Women must be empowered – and empower themselves.
Society is the one that failed. Sad.
Utter left wing nonsense, 7:36. There is no such entity called “society”. The people concerned were raised/not raised horribly by parents/family and when terrible things began to happen, policemen (not “society”) made poor decisions because the poor unlearned ignorant woman who was the subject of all the abuse refused to help them.Calling it ‘society’ implies an easy solution and getting the blame away from people/human beings and pretending that is some governments fault.
How can there be so much anger and hate inside of a human being? My prayers are with this young woman’s family.
Bad as Caymanians can be, they don’t seem to go in for this ghastly machete chopping violence that is a trademark of Jamaicans of the lower illiterate classes that we employ here nowadays because our own Caymanians are too damn lazy to do these jobs.. This is the second one in Bodden Town (which is nearly all Jamaican now)-what happened to the guy who chopped his wife half to death down Monument Road a year or so ago? Both of them Jamaicans again.
Did he have status? The reason I am asking is I don’t understand if he was beating her, and the police were called, why wasn’t he charged? If he was charged and on a work permit, the permit could be revoked and he can be sent on his way. If he had status, depending on which section he obtained it, that to can be revoked and he can be sent on his way. In my opinion “The POLICE” failed this young woman.
This is no surprise, the police fail at everything, every time…
Cannot revoke a WP because of a charge, need a conviction, and you don’t even get to the charge if the victim wont press charges.
Then someone make the change to the law that a victim does not need to press charges. A person can be charged regardless.
Yes maybe the woman didn’t want to press charges, but the police witnessed a crime taking place I could be wrong, but I believe if they witness a crime they themselves can charge the individual Aren’t they trained to realize many woman who are abused won’t press charges, also for the reason “NO ONE WILL PROTECT THEM” a piece of paper or a verbal order will not stop an abusive spouse or boyfriend.
We failed this young woman. All of us. Why are boys being raised to become monsters?
Yeah so true the Caymanians are only keyboard warriors.