Blackette cleared of “Killa Loop’s” murder

The investigation into the murder of Kenford “Killa Loop” Samuel continues. This time, the police are in search of a different suspect.{{more}}

Ian Blackette, the 38-year-old Grenadian who had been charged with Samuel’s murder, walked free last week Friday at the Serious Offences Court after Chief Magistrate Simone Churaman upheld a no case submission by Blackette’s defence counsel, Kay Bacchus Browne.

Bacchus Browne addressed some critical factors in the prosecution’s evidence, which she argued, showed that her client could not be held responsible for Samuel’s death.

On January 21, 2007, 22-year-old Samuel was standing in the public road at Rillan Hill when a vehicle pulled up and an occupant of the vehicle sprayed the block with bullets, resulting in Samuel being shot in his back. He died at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

Bacchus-Browne said that the prosecution’s case was tenuous and that the evidence given by some of the witnesses was contradictory. She said that the prosecution’s evidence clearly showed that Blackette was driving a blue car that day, which Blackette also admitted to. Other witnesses said that they saw the defendant in a white car but no positive identification was made.

Bacchus-Browne further attacked the evidence given by Samuel’s sister, who said she knew Blackette very well and that she saw a person with a hat on his head push his head through the car window and fire the shot. She could not identify the person and also said that the car was white.

Magistrate Churaman said she was concerned that no one had seen the vehicle’s registration number. She also noted that the accused had not been positively identified.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Colin Williams however did not agree with all the arguments put forward by Bacchus-Browne but said that the police are still trying to locate another suspect in the matter.

Blackette was deported to Grenada as he was in this country illegally.