CHARLESTOWN, Nevis, January 22, 2016 -- Twenty six witnesses are expected to give testimony at Philo Wallace Coroner’s Inquest that opened on Thursday.
Her Ladyship, Yasmine Clarke is presiding over the Inquest which is being held in camera(private) at the Magistrate’s Court, Nevis. A five member jury has been deployed to listen to the proceedings and declare the verdict at the conclusion of the verdict.
Members of the Press are not allowed into the inquest but according to sources close to the Inquest the members of the jury are seemingly persons of integrity in the society. The prosecutor is a senior police officer based in St. Kitts. There were several top police officers in the inquest yesterday.
According to impeccable sources, the police officer alleged to have murdered Philo Wallace in cold blood was not at the inquest but may have been in the Charlestown police station building. Some members of the St. Kitts and Nevis defense force were seen around the court precincts.
The same impeccable sources revealed that statements documented by the Royal St. Kitts and Nevis Police Force are weak but that the pathologist’s report which is scheduled to be released in the inquest today may be strong enough to direct the jury to declare that the police officer in question murdered Philo.
Yesterday, youthful enthusiastic Nevisian young men waited patiently at the bar adjacent the police station to give evidence. It is one of the few murder cases where so many witnesses have volunteered to give evidence without fear for their lives.
Hugh Oswald Wallace, Philo’s father was the first witness to give evidence. Dr Henry Browne(Q.C) was at the Inquest yesterday representing Wallace family’s interest. The former Attorney General,Jason Hamilton, attoneys Masha Henderson and Vaughn Woodley were also in court holding brief for the officer who allegedly murdered Philo Wallace.
Philo Wallace, a promising 17-year-old cricketer of Hamilton Village in Nevis, was shot and killed by an off-duty policeman on October 17 last year, which resulted in a public outcry for justice.
According to reports, at about 3:45 a.m. on the day in question, he was shot in the chest while at Enrique’s Bar and died at the Alexandra Hospital approximately half hour after arriving there. Reports also indicate that prior to the shooting, there was an altercation within the bar where the police officer sustained an injury to his head.
As a result, investigations into the matter were done by the police and the case file was sent to the then Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Arudranauth Gossai, who wrote a letter to Her Worship Jasmine Clarke on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 advising her to hold a Coroner’s Inquest into the matter.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
