Update: Two Men Apprehended in Estella Roberts Murder Case

Condensed from the Cayman Net News, and the Cay Compass

Thursday 30th October, 2008

Two men accused of killing Cable and Wireless communications manager Estella Scott–Roberts, appeared in Summary Court Thursday facing numerous charges including murder, abduction and robbery. One of the suspects, 27–year–old Kirkland Henry, was charged with an additional count of rape in connection with Mrs. Scott–Roberts’ murder. Kirkland Henry worked as a gardener and lived in George Town . The other murder suspect, 25–year–old Larry Prinston Ricketts, worked as a carpenter and also lived in George Town.

Solicitor General Cheryll Richards told the court that police obtained detailed statements from both men admitting to the allegations during police questioning. As well, they were both in possession of two of Mrs. Scott–Roberts’ cell phones; one found on each man. She said there was also forensic evidence connecting Kirkland Henry to the deceased. Mrs. Richards recommended that both men be remanded in custody on the charges. Mrs. Richards stressed that “these are serious charges against them", and Magistrate Margaret Ramsay–Hale agreed, stating “charges of this nature…by two foreigners, there is no doubt they are a flight risk,”.

The men were interviewed at length by police prior to Thursday’s court appearance, and neither had retained Counsel by the time of the proceeding. Both of the accused were remanded into custody and are to appear before the court again on November 6th, 2008.

Two Men Charged with Rape of 5-year-old Girl

No pictures of the two Caymanian suspects are available.

By Trent Jacobs Two men have been formally charged with raping a five-year-old girl after being arrested last week. Kent Robert Ebanks, 52, of West Bay, has been charged with three separate instances of rape and Marden Hernandez-Kirkconnell, 26, has been charged with one count of rape of the young girl. The crimes were reported to police on the evening of Monday, 20 October, the same night Mr Ebanks was arrested; Mr Hernandez-Kirkconnell was arrested the following day. As defined by the Cayman Islands Penal Code, rape is considered to be unlawful sexual intercourse with another person without consent and is punishable by up to life in prison. In Cayman, the severity of the charge is the same regardless of the age of the rape victim. Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) spokesperson Deborah Denis told Cayman Net News, “It’s still the same charge of rape and rape is the highest sexual offence charge there is in the Cayman Islands.” The child was taken to a hospital for treatment but has since been released, according to the police, and is said to be “doing ok.” The rape case was made public last week in a widely circulated email that included a picture of a man alleged to be one of the rapists and included a warning to call police if the man was seen. That same day the RCIPS issued a release explaining that the email was not an official police document. The subject of child sexual abuse has gained media attention following the two-year sentence recently given to a man who was convicted of indecently assaulting a five-year-old boy. Last week, the RCIPS issued a statement explaining that in 2006 they forwarded their sex offenders registry proposal to the Attorney General Hon. Samuel Bulgin, who approved the proposal and submitted it to the Legal Drafting Department where, according to police, it still remains two years since its original drafting. When reached by Cayman Net News a representative from the Legal Drafting Department said that they have been told not to speak to the press about the sex offenders registry and all inquires were to be handled through Acting Attorney General Cheryll Richards. She could not be reached for comment by press time. Sandra Catron, a former candidate for public office and radio talk-show host, who has been outspoken on the issue, recently declared that in light of the Government’s inaction to pass the sex offenders registry into law she will launch a public sex offender registry online. According to the RCIPS statement, “The advantages of such a register include the increased supervision and tracking of convicted sexual offenders, particularly those at high risk of re-offending after expiry of their parole or probation period, through knowledge of their patterns of offending and place of abode and employment which will highlight any contact they may have with potential new victims.” The proposed registry will include data such as the perpetrators name, aliases, distinguishing marks, picture, address, place of work and DNA samples. The Legislative Assembly will decide whether the public will have access to such information. In the US, Megan’s Law or the Sexual Offender Act of 1994, makes public such information as opposed to the UK where similar legislation maintains the privacy of sexual offenders. “It just shows their lack of complete interest in the matter,” Ms Catron said of the Government’s failure to pass the legislation that would inform the public of sex offenders living in the community. In a reference to the recent murder of woman’s rights activist Estella Scott-Roberts and the possible implications of taking action herself on the issue of sexual abuse, Ms Catron said, “I’m putting my life at risk here potentially and in physical danger because our Government refuses to get off of their behinds and do the right thing by the people in this country.” She described the crime against the young rape victim as “horrific” and said she hopes justice is served properly in this case. “I’m glad that charges were brought which hopefully means there is sufficient evidence for a successful prosecution. It just makes me physically sick to even think of the possibility of that happening.” Ms Catron is also pushing for broader education regarding sexual abuse but insists that the public be made aware of convicted sexual criminals living in the Cayman Islands, whether they are Caymanians or foreigners. She noted that she is in the early process of forming a petition to convince the Government to take action on the matter saying, “The public has a right to know.” Ms Catron added: “[I’ll do] whatever is necessary to show the Government that the majority of people in this country are in favour of a public sex offenders registry that they themselves can go online and access.”

Cayman's Estella Scott-Roberts Victim of Foul Play

Published on Saturday, October 11, 2008 in the Cayman Net News
The body of Estella Scott-Roberts, Cable and Wireless Corporate Communications Manager, was found in a burnt-out car today (Saturday, October 11, 2008). She had been missing since leaving friends last night at a Deckers restaurant on Seven Mile Beach. Mrs Scott-Roberts, 34, was from Cayman Brac and was the driving force behind the creation of the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, where she held the position of Executive Director for three years before joining Cable and Wireless in 2006. Well-known throughout the Cayman Islands as a strong advocate for the rights and well-being of women, she was also a staunch advocate for the empowerment of young people. Detectives have confirmed that the burned vehicle found in the Dykes is the registered vehicle of Mrs Scott-Roberts. The vehicle is a 2007, black, Ford Edge, license plate number 129-257 and detectives would like to hear from anyone who saw the vehicle after 11.30pm last night (Friday, October 10). The car has been removed from the scene for forensic examination and the remains have been taken to the morgue. A forensic pathologist from the United States is expected to arrive in Cayman tomorrow (Sunday, October 12) to carry out a post mortem on Monday. “The body in the vehicle has been very badly burned,” said Senior Investigating Officer, Chief Inspector Peter Kennett. “At this time it is not possible for us to confirm the identity of the victim.” Police are appealing for sightings of Mrs Scott-Roberts or her vehicle. She was last seen leaving Deckers restaurant on West Bay Road sometime between 11 and 11.30pm last night, however nobody saw her drive from the car park. “Somehow, Mrs Scott-Robert’s vehicle got from Deckers to the Dykes,” said Mr Kennett. “It’s vital that we trace the last movements of her and her car and appeal for anyone who may have seen her vehicle prior to it being found this morning to come forward.” Anyone who can assist should contact George Town police station on 949-4222 and ask for the Criminal Investigation Department or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477. The police investigation began this morning after Mrs Scott-Roberts was reported missing. Her cell phone was traced to the West Bay area and a search commenced. On the request of the police, officers from the Department of Environment assisted with the search of the Dykes, due to their intimate knowledge of the area, and it was one of these officers who located the vehicle and called 911. Detectives are continuing their investigations this evening and anticipate a further update for the community and the media in the morning. Further details will be reported as soon as they are known.

Grand Court Judge Alexander Henderson Arrested, Puts Up a Fight

Grand Court Judge Alexander Henderson, who was arrested on September 24th 2008 on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The exact circumstances that led to his arrest are as follows:

Executing the search warrant on the morning of Wednesday Sept 24th, 2008, a six-member Metropolitan Police team seized computers, documents and Mr Henderson’s Canadian passport before confiscating the Justice’s keys and phone and arresting him for “misconduct in public office”.

Held for questioning in the George Town police station, the Judge returned home about 6:00 pm, but on Thursday was questioned again by police, spending a total of almost eight hours under interrogation.

In a startling two-page statement issued Mr Henderson defended himself against the accusations, saying he had been arrested “simply so they [police] could interview me”.

“When asked by police to give a statement about this,” he said, “I provided one in writing months ago and said I would answer questions posed in writing, but would not submit to an oral cross-examination. The Chief Justice, Solicitor General and the Special Prosecutor all agreed that it was the correct approach in the case of a member of the judiciary being questioned in such circumstances.”
“The police”, he wrote “demanded an oral interview repeatedly.”

Justice Henderson said the misconduct allegations for which no charges have been laid, derive from a series of events involving former Cayman Net News reporter John Evans in the wake of a mid-2007 series of letters-to-the-editor highly critical of the Cayman Islands judiciary.

The Justice, an acquaintance of Mr Evans, said he was suspicious of the letters’ authorship.

“I told Mr Evans I would be interested in hearing anything he might learn about the identity of the author(s),” Mr Henderson wrote.

On 3 September, and without permission, Mr Evans entered the offices of Net News owner and Editor-in-Chief Desmond Seales, seeking -- without success -- evidence of a previously alleged corrupt relationship between Mr Seales and Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis.

“It is alleged that he also planned to search for evidence of the identity of the letter writer(s),” the Justice wrote, “and that this entry into his own place of employment amounts in law to burglary.”

The Justice rejected any suggestion that he may have abetted Mr Evans: “I did not ask or encourage Mr Evans to conduct a search of his employer’s offices. I did not ask or encourage him to commit any illegal act.”

The 64-year-old Henderson was Acting Judge of the Cayman Islands Grand Court from 2000 to 2003 and Acting Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Supreme Court in 2001.

The Governor f Cayman Islands has not suspended Mr Henderson, although he did not attend a scheduled trial on Friday, telling a Canadian interviewer that he was “taking some vacation”.

Judge Henderson served as a Supreme Court Judge in Vancouver from 1995 to 2003 after 25 years in private practice and as an assistant city prosecutor.

Forward to what the current drama is with Mr. Henderson.

He has filed an application for judicial review. This application concerns the decision by Justice of the Peace, Carson K Ebanks, to sign warrants permitting police officers to enter and search Mr Henderson’s home in South Sound and his office at Kirk House.

Campbells, the attorneys acting for Mr Henderson, have asked for an urgent ex parte hearing of the application, in other words a hearing without the opposing parties being present.

The application seeks declarations that the entry of police officers into Mr Henderson’s home, and his office and robing room at Kirk House and the searches conducted there on 24 September were unlawful.

Mr Henderson also seeks the return of all items seized from his home and Kirk House office, as well as damages and costs.

According to the court documents filed on Mr Henderson’s behalf, the decision by Mr Ebanks to grant an application for search warrants was unlawful for the following reasons:

• Mr Ebanks had no, or no sufficient, information upon which he could be satisfied that there were reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of the offence of misconduct in public office.
  
• Mr Ebanks was not informed of the decision "In the Matter of Operation Tempura". [This is believed to be a reference to an earlier decision of the Chief Justice denying search warrants in relation to Commissioner of Police Stuart Kernohan and Detective Chief Superintendant John Jones.]
  
• Mr Ebanks therefore failed to take into account important matters relevant to his decision.
  
• The warrants purport to have been issued by the Court whereas Mr Ebanks is not a competent Court of the Cayman Islands. Accordingly, the warrants do not comply with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (2006 Revision).

A full hearing of the application is requested for 17 October 2008, assuming that leave is given by the court to take the matter forward.