Murder trial underway for ‘stone and acid killer’

St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. – The murder trial of Haitian born Lemy Vergile got underway yesterday after on Monday, a Virgin Island Superior Court jury was selected to hear his case.

The 44-year-old man is accused of killing his former girlfriend, 41-year-old Paulette Joseph by beating her with a stone then dousing her with acid.

Vergile was charged with murder, assault and weapons charges relating to the January 28th, 2008 incident.

The case will be presided over by Judge James Carroll III who will listen to testimony speaking to the horrific circumstances under which the Haitian woman met her demise.

According to details released to the public, sometime after 6 p.m. on January 28th emergency dispatchers were notified about shots fired in the area of Green Cay Plantation followed shortly by reports of a woman screaming.

Police quickly responded to find an unconscious Joseph face down on the side of a dirt road leading to the beach at Frenchman's Bay. She was suffering from visible acid burns about her body but attempts by EMS to douse her with water did little to help as Joseph perished in the Schneider hospital later that same night. Joseph also suffered from head injuries which evidently led to the cause of death, blunt force trauma to the head. ~~Adz:Right~~

Vergile was arrested less than an hour after when police followed leads from the two emergency calls which indicated a red Nissan had been seen driving away from a motionless body.

The Good Samaritans had apparently followed the suspect vehicle and notified police of the address where the man exited the car and entered an Estate Thomas apartment.

According to a deposition by V.I. Police Department Cpl. Delbert Phipps Sr., Vergile confessed to picking up Joseph and taking her to Frenchman's Bay where he beat her with a stone and poured acid on her.

Vergile also reportedly claimed the acid belonged to Joseph and that the killing had not been intentional but a quarrel gone too far.

The suspect’s story got more bizarre after he claimed through an interpreter that he believed his victim had used ‘obeah’ against his wife and himself to try to kill them both.

If convicted, Vergile will face substantial jail time or a possible life sentence for the horrendous crime especially if the prosecution can prove that he intended to kill his victim.