BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TWO young men were last week sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 17-year-old Leanna Napoleon, which occurred between May 8 and June 14, 2017.
According to a police communiqué, Napoleon’s brother, 22-year-old Brandon Lee Wells of Buckley’s Estate and 21-one-year-old Travien Liddie of St. Johnson’s Village were both sentenced on Friday (Nov. 6).
Wells was also sentenced to an additional five-year imprisonment for Attempting to Pervert the Natural Course of Justice.
Both of them were convicted on Friday, October 11, 2019.
Napoleon, who was a fifth form Basseterre High School student, was residing with her adopted mother in Keys Village following the death of her biological mother in 2015.
The 17-year-old was reported missing after she had written her CSEC EDPM exam at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College on Monday, May 8, 2017.
She was reportedly last seen on Fort Street, Basseterre in the afternoon of that day in question. However, since the report, members of the Police Force, Defence Force, family members, friends and public-spirited citizens had conducted extensive searches in the Buckley’s, Keys and other areas for the missing girl without success.
It was not until the night of Wednesday, June, 14, 2017 that police ranks discovered her decomposing body within a shallow grave in the Olivees Mountain area.
Following her disappearance, police had taken a number of individuals into custody for questioning, but they were subsequently released.
However, hours after Napoleon’s body was discovered, police had taken her brother into custody and he was subsequently charged with the capital offence on Saturday, June 17, 2017.
Two days later, police had arrested and charged the then 18-year-old Liddie for the same offence.
