Victim’s family wants Mercy Committee to reject murderer

The relatives of a four-year-old girl who was murdered 23 years ago are alarmed that the culprit, who was sentenced to life in prison, has applied to the Prerogative of Mercy Committee for release.

“He will have his freedom and what would we have? Will his release bring back my sister?,” Mishker Ollivierre asked during an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday.

On December 19 1993, Eversley “Lion” Thompson was arrested for the murder of D’Andra Ollivierre, a four-year old girl who had disappeared from her Bequia home the day before.{{more}}

In June 1995, a jury, made up of six men and six women found Thompson guilty of Ollivierre’s murder and sentenced him to death on June 21,1995.

Thompson appealed, but his appeal was dismissed on January 15 1996. He later appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and his death sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Now according to D’Andra’s sister Mishker, last Friday September 30, she received a call from a social worker, informing her that Thompson was up for parole and had applied to the Mercy Committee.

But the Ollivierre family, who Mishker says was torn apart by what happened to D’Andra does not want Thompson to leave prison, as they are still trying to come to grips with the fact that he confessed he had raped and killed the 4-year-old whose body was never recovered.

Mishker said that she was 10 years old when her sister was viciously ripped from the world and she can still clearly remember the period when she went missing and persons were looking for her body.

She said that Thompson was found hiding a day after her sister went missing and when taken to the police station in Bequia, he confessed to kidnapping, raping and disposing of D’Andra’s body.

“I was under the impression that he would be in prison for life,” stressed Mishker who revealed that the incident tore her family apart and that over the years, family members have been avoiding one another so not to discuss what happened on that fateful night.

Mishker said that on the same night her sister was killed, two other female family members — a woman and her autistic daughter were severely chopped about their bodies and left for dead. The daughter was also raped. She said it is alleged that Thompson was also a person of interest in those crimes, but the police focused on the murder. No one was never charged in relation to those offences.

“So what happened to the other case?”

She said that a few years ago, as a grown woman, she was at White Chapel Road in Kingstown when she saw a man in prison clothes smiling at her and a prison officer told her that was the man who killed her sister.

Mishker said that she did not know how Thompson looked and she was startled because it was obvious to her that he had recognised her even though her features had changed. She said that on a number of other occasions she saw Thompson in and outside the prison walls washing

down vehicles and doing other chores, something that offended her. She said that to her, he was being given too much freedom although he had committed such a heinous act.

Mishker said on one occasion, she even came face to face with Thompson while shopping in a store in Middle Street. She said that persons who had served time in prison have even brought messages from Thompson telling her that he said “hello”.

“I am not afraid of him. My family was shattered by the incident,” said Mishker who added that while she thinks that some people could be forgiven for bad things they did, Thompson is not one of them.

“He never told us what he did with the body; it was never found. We had a memorial service for her. We can’t have closure because the body was never found,” said the angry woman who added that different locations were given for D’Andra1s body, but all their searches turned up empty.

She is asking Thompson to disclose the location of her sister’s body so that they could find closure and put her to rest.

“He will be free but that can’t bring back my sister. We still in prison,” said Mishker.

At the time of the incident in 1993, Thompson was 31 years old. At trial, the evidence for the prosecution stated that the day after the murder, Thompson had been seen hiding under a tree near D’Andra’s home. Blood, faecal material and the girl’s panty were found on the beach near the family’s home.

According to the prosecution, police officers apprehended Thompson at his home early in the morning of December 19, 1993. They showed him a red slipper found the evening before and he said that it was his.

After being taken to the police station, Thompson confessed that he had sexually abused the girl and then thrown the girl into the sea from the beach. He went with the policemen to point out the place where the incident happened. Upon return, he made a confession statement.

The evidence by the police was subject to a voir dire during trial but Thompson contested ever having made a statement. He testified that the police officers had beaten him at home and at the police station, and that he had been given electric shocks and had been struck with a gun and a shovel. His parents gave evidence that they had seen him the day after he was taken up by police with his face and hands badly swollen.

After the voir dire, the judge ruled that the statement was voluntary and admitted it into evidence. Before the jury, Thompson gave sworn evidence and again challenged the statement.

On Wednesday, the Director of Public Prosecutions’ office said that in our jurisdiction, a sentence of life imprisonment means just that, life imprisonment. However, a sentence of this nature can be commuted by the Prerogative of Mercy Committee.

The DPP office said that from time to time, cases like this one go to the Mercy Committee for consideration but they are not always looked upon favourably.

“They get matters referred to them and then they decide, a number of persons have benefited and I have not known of anybody who has reoffended,” said the DPP’s office.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that seven applications, in addition to that of Thompson’s, are before the Prerogative of Mercy Committee. (LC)