Wednesday, February 14, 2007

ROAD TOWN, BVI: A British Virgin Islands woman, Selena Varlack, who was sentenced with two men to life imprisonment for murder last year, was set free by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday.

The Court of Appeal sitting in St Kitts delivered judgment and allowed Varlack’s appeal, thereby quashing the murder conviction and setting aside the sentence of life imprisonment.

In June 2006, after a 13-day trial, the jury found Varlack, 22, of Anegada, Clinton Hamn and Lorne Parsons guilty of the murder of Tristan Todman Industrious and they were sentenced to life imprisonment.

On January 16 and 17 this year in Tortola, the Court of Appeal, comprised of the Acting Chief Justice and two Justices of Appea,l heard Varlack’s appeal and reserved judgement.

At the trial, Varlack’s case was heard together with the cases of three men, as they were all charged with being part of a conspiracy to murder Todman, whose dead body was found with bullet wounds on August 30, 2004, in a car in a remote area in Nottingham Estate in Tortola.

One accused man was acquitted on a directed jury verdict after his counsel Dr Henry Browne had made a successful 'no case submission'.

In the Court of Appeal, Varlack’s case was heard together with Hamn and Parsons.

At the High Court and in the jury trial, the prosecution was represented by Director of Public Prosecution Terrence Williams and Crown Counsel Tamia Richards, and at the Court of Appeal by the DPP and Tiffany Scatliffe.

At the High Court jury trial and the Court of Appeal, Varlack was represented by barristers at law Richard Crowe and Anthea Smith of the law firm JS Archibald and Co.

  Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed

  Printable version