Elbert Edwards, 59, has been arraigned at the magistrate court in Roseau to answer charges for the murder of his 86-year-old girlfriend, Bernadette Nicholas. Edwards’ common-law partner was founded murdered with multiple stab wounds on the night of January 7, 2021, at the residence where both lived.
Edwards is represented by Tiyani Behanzin, a former magistrate, and Inspector Davidson Cadette is making the prosecution for the state. The presiding court magistrate is Michael Laudat.
During the proceeding, Behanzin requested for the court to defer the reading of charges to his client to enable the attorney obtain a hospital order for his client who reportedly suffers from a long history of mental instability. He stated that Edwards was suffering from withdrawal issues on the day he was reported to have killed his partner.
Inspector Cadette objected to Behanzin’s request for a hospital order for his client, arguing that the attorney did not support his deposition about Edwards’ mental health with necessary medical documents.
Ultimately, Magistrate Laudat sided with the prosecution, stating that the defence’s request for a hospital order can only be granted if it has been sufficiently established that the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU) has room to accommodate the accused. He also ruled that the charge must be read to the defendant since he is not mandated by law to respond to it, and that the magistrate court does not have the power to defer a plea on indictable matters as requested by the defence.
After the charge was read to the accused, Laudat ordered that the case be adjourned to January 18, 2021, and that Edwards must be remanded in prison custody. The magistrate also requested the Superintendent of the Dominica Prisons Service, Kenrick Jean Jacques, to determine if Edwards can be treated at the prison. Bail was not granted to the accused because the magistrate said it was not in the public interest to do so, citing the new Bail Act.
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