Belize City, Tues. April 29, 2008 - The sentencing of Robert Gillett, 19, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the decapitation of Maria Noemi Garcia, did not take place today and was adjourned until May 7, because Gillett admitted that he was at the scene but claimed that he was not Garcia’s killer, in his plea for mitigation.

  Robert Gillet leaving courtroom

Garcia, who worked as a maid at the residence Floyd Brown in Lord’s Bank, was killed on June 10, 2005, at her work place. Her assailants entered the house during the day when she was alone and one of them cut off her head with one of two swords they found in the house.

But there was a dispute concerning the facts as to which sword the police recovered from Gillett.

The case officer, Sergeant Egbert Castillo, testified that he recovered two swords, one from Gillett and the other from Gillett’s brother, John Chessman Jr., who was also charged with murder but was acquitted on the charge two weeks ago.

The smaller of the two swords had blood stains on it that matched the O-type blood of Garcia, but Castillo testified that he was not 100% sure that he recovered the small sword from Gillett.

Apart from the sword the police recovered from Gillett, they also recovered an X box, 2 game discs and an Erickson cell phone, which were items that Brown reported were missing from his house.

When Crown Counsel Ramirez read the facts of the case in court it became clear that the evidence against Gillett, except for a confession statement, was circumstantial.

Fingerprints that were lifted from the scene were matched with three fingerprints of Gillett – one of his left index finger, the second of the left middle finger and the third of the ring finger.

Also the O-type blood that was found on a blue t-shirt Gillett reportedly wore on the day of the incident matched Garcia’s blood type.

The confession statement Gillett gave was recorded by Assistant Superintendent Chester Williams on June 14, 2005. It was recorded in the presence of Gillett’s cousin, Kyson Graham, and Mervin Bennett, a Justice of the Peace.

Chessman was freed on the charge of murder on April 5.

A voire dire was held to determine whether a confession statement Chessman gave to the police should be admitted as evidence.

Based on the evidence that came out, Justice Lucas ruled that the statement was inadmissible because the police did not fully read Chessman his constitutional rights before they recorded the statement.

Without the confession statement Senior Crown Counsel Ramirez indicated that the prosecution had no further evidence to offer. Justice Lucas then directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty.