High Court trial for teen accused of murder

Sandy Bay teen Jurani ‘Wanny’ Baptiste, was last Friday, June 2, committed to stand trial at the High Court for the November 14, 2016 murder of retired nurse Pamela Williams.

The decision made by Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias came following a paper committal that morning.

This means that the Chief Magistrate reads the witness statements, instead of having witnesses come before the court.

Police apprehended the 18-year-old Sandy Bay resident last year, following a series of gruesome murders that were committed in the space of four hours, between Campden Park and Kingstown Park.

When Baptiste first appeared before the court, he was not required to plead to the murder charge and a March 27, 2017 date was set for a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), with 14 persons slated to testify.

Baptiste is also a person of interest in the murders of Nicholas Layne, Avis Israel and her son Ronald Israel, who were also killed the night Williams was murdered. (AS)