Confessions of an alleged murderer
"I did not intend to kill Michelle Weekes-Benjamin"…William Benjamin tells court

By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

William ‘Willy-Esco’ Benjamin

The 21-year-old is charged with the murder of Michelle Weekes-Benjamin, which took place sometime between October 29 and 30, 2006 at her Carifesta Village home.

Shervin ‘Squeaky’ George is also on trial, having been charged with accessory to murder”. According to the prosecution, he assisted William Benjamin with the disposal of Michelle’s body and the mattress on which she died.

After the prosecution had called all of its witnesses and closed its case, William Benjamin stood before the seven-woman-five-man jury and gave his account of the incident that occurred during the early hours of Monday, October 30, 2006.

He said it was about 12 midnight when he returned to the home he shared with his sister-in-law and her husband, Leroy Benjamin Jr., who is also his brother. The accused said he saw his sister-in-law’s vehicle and also his brother’s vehicle, which indicated that they were home, but he did not see any light in the house and he heard no noise coming from either of their bedrooms.

The accused said that after putting his food in the refrigerator, he changed into his sleeping clothes and retired to bed. He stated that

Shervin ‘Squeaky’ George

“On my way to the bathroom I heard the fridge door open. I saw my sister-in-law with my food.  I saw her cough and spat in it. I was very angry and confused at the time. I went in my room and when I came back out and looked in the kitchen direction, Michelle was not there…I went to her room. I decided to confront her about it.”  

Michelle’s brother-in-law told the court that when he confronted her she ignored him, but his persistence, he explained, resulted in an “argument” which led to a physical struggle.

“…I approached her. I was in a frustrated mood at the time and I pushed her. I was in a frustrated mood at the time…she fought back with me. We were wrangling then I held on to her for about five minutes or so. She stopped moving. I was scared at the moment, saying she was unconscious. I checked to see if she was breathing. She was not breathing, owing to the fact that she was dead.”

William Benjamin told the court that he considered reporting the matter to the police “but at that time I was confused. I didn’t know what to do from there…” He said that he placed the body in a sheet and called for assistance which he received.

The accused explained that he and one of his friends sought for a place to dump the body after he had placed it in a van. Remembering a Rosemary Lane building which was under construction, William Benjamin continued, he dumped the body in a hole at the interior of that building. He said he was unaware that that hole was the opening to a septic tank.

~~Adz:Left~~ The accused man was forthright in expressing his saddened state over the incident and said he wished things did not happen the way they did.

“I did not intend to kill Michelle Weekes-Benjamin. I felt very disturbed when this happened. I wish that it didn’t happen this way…I did not plan to kill Michelle. I felt angry and frustrated when I saw her spit in my food. I found that very disrespectful…”

Before the incident, William Benjamin recalled, the relationship between himself and Michelle was “great”, noting that they had gone out together on occasions and she assisted him financially. He said after the relationship between Michelle and her husband began to deteriorate, so did the relationship between the two of them.

 While being cross-examined by George’s lawyer, Hesketh Benjamin, William Benjamin told the court that on the night of the incident he did not see George nor did George provide him with any assistance in disposing Michelle’s remains.

He was also cross-examined by lead prosecutor Sir Richard Cheltenham QC, who suggested to him that there were a number of inaccuracies between the evidence he gave from the witness box and the statement he gave “under caution” on November 7, 2006 while at Her Majesty’s Prison.

William Benjamin told the court that the version of the incident that he gave on November 7, 2006 was “not the full account”, and further explained that he was prepped and instructed on what he should say in the statement by Inspector Venetta Wyatt, the police officer who recorded the statement.

Cheltenham suggested to the accused that for some time leading up to the incident, he had “conceived a hatred” for Michelle which he denied. Cheltenham’s also suggested that after William Benjamin witnessed his sister-in-law spat in his food, he had time “for his anger to wear off”; another suggestion to which the accused rejected.   

William Benjamin admitted that in his November 7, 2006 statement he named George and Khoy Jeffers as the persons who assisted him in getting rid of Michelle’s body. He however noted that that piece of information was inaccurate as George played no part in the incident.

The accused man admitted to and told the court that he used duct tape and plastic wrap to bind Michelle’s hands, feet, mouth and face after the incident had occurred.

George, the number two accused in the case, took the stand and denied that he had any involvement in the disposal of Michelle Weekes-Benjamin’s body.

“I was not at Carifesta Village on the 29th or 30th of October 2006. I did not know that William Benjamin had murdered Michelle Weekes. I did not assist William Benjamin in disposing of the body and mattress of Michelle Weekes. I did not impede anybody’s arrest.”

George told the court that he was spoken to by Sergeant Christopher after the incident and was issued a copy of his charge, but denied uttering the words, “Me charge ain’t suppose to be so big if a give a hand.” George told the court, “I have nothing to do with this matter at all.”

The suggestion made to George by Cheltenham under cross-examination was that he, having visited the construction site at Rosemary Lane, was familiar with the progress of the building and at sometime after 1:00 a.m. on October 30, 2006 assisted William Benjamin and Khoy Jeffers with disposing of the body in the building.

George admitted to knowing of the progress of the building, as he lived in proximity to it and frequented the area. He however maintained that he had no involvement in the incident where Michelle Weeks Benjamin was killed and her remains dumped.

George’s was the last testimony in the case and, having closed their case, the prosecution and defence will present their closing arguments today (Oct 24).

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