Five years after he was arrested for the murder of his reputed wife Lennox Syfox was pronounced guilty by a jury yesterday afternoon and subsequently sentenced to death by Justice Roxane George.
After deliberating for several hours a mixed jury found Syfox guilty of murdering Roselyne Rodney on August 19, 2005. Syfox, 29, stabbed the woman to death in her Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara home that night. The deceased was holding their baby at the time and Syfox had also stabbed the child to the head. The child survived.
The murder trial commenced in the High Court more than two weeks ago and Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos led the defence.
In early December 2007 Magistrate Sherdell Isaacs had committed Syfox to stand trial in the High Court after the conclusion of an eight-month-long preliminary inquiry (PI). The PI was done at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court.
During the PI, eight persons had testified including Pauline Rodney, the mother of the deceased, who was a key witness. Pauline Rodney testified again during the High Court trial.
Around 8.45 pm on August 19, 2005, Syfox attacked his reputed wife in the Golden Grove house. Several days before the incident, Pauline Rodney said, her daughter and the man had an argument which escalated with time. Syfox, according to the woman, had accused her daughter of being unfaithful.
When Syfox attacked her daughter, Pauline Rodney had said, she tried to fight the man off and suffered cuts and bruises in the process. However, despite her struggles Syfox managed to first stab her grandchild to the head and then Roselyne to the neck.
After the attack he ran from the house. On August 22, 2005 police issued a wanted bulletin for Syfox. He was subsequently caught on Camp Street with an unlicensed gun in his possession. Syfox, formerly of Lot 61 Foulis, East Coast Demerara, was also wanted by police in relation to a shooting. Later, he was also charged with escaping from a police prison van along with two other prisoners.
