A forensic investigator taking photographs of the vehicle in which the lifeless body of Juancho Raymond Cannegieter was found on August 8, 2018. (File photo)
PHILIPSBURG–The Court of First Instance on Wednesday sent a 27-year-old suspect to prison for eighteen years as he was held responsible for having gunned down and killed Juancho Raymond Cannegieter (39) in a yard near his home on Marigot Hill Road on August 6, 2018.
The police found Cannegieter lifeless in his vehicle, with two gunshot wounds to his head, which were fired from a short distance.
Defendant Ridy Edouard became a suspect after he was found in the possession of the victim’s phone shortly after the shooting. The Prosecutor’s Office charged him with murder/manslaughter and with the possession of an illegal firearm. For these crimes the Prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of 22 years.
Edouard’s lawyer Safira Ibrahim had pleaded for her client’s full acquittal, during the Court hearing of June 5.
Three days after the shooting, Edouard was apprehended after he was found in the possession of the deceased’s mobile phone. He initially was arrested for fencing, but from a secretly recorded conversation with a co-suspect, his involvement with murder and manslaughter had emerged. Confronted with the recorded conversation, the co-suspect had provided the police with an incriminating statement against the defendant.
Based on the evidence provided in this case, the Court found it legally and convincingly proven that Edouard was the person who had taken Cannegieter’s life in a premeditated murder.
According to the Court, the defendant had made an appointment with the victim with the intention to take his life. “Cannegieter had to pay for the fight he had with the victim one day earlier, suspect wanted a payback,” it was stated in the verdict.
In the evening prior to the murder, at approximately 8:30, the defendant had made “tough” statements on WhatsApp about his plans, by stating, for instance, “dem dead” and “ready to hit a crime scene there.” Two hours after the victim’s death he had stated, “Head alone I going for,” and shortly after the murder he had sent pictures of Cannegieter’s phone around.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/88669-man-to-prison-for-18-years-for-execution-style-killing
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