Charles Anthony Woolford was yesterday sentenced to 13 years in jail for the 2009 killing of his beautician wife Latoya Conway-Woolford.
Woolford, who was charged with murder, was convicted on the lesser count of manslaughter by a 12-member jury on June 19.
His sentence, which was handed down by Justice Brassington Reynolds at the High Court, in Georgetown, had been deferred to yesterday to facilitate the presentation of a probation report.
Conway-Woolford was fatally stabbed at the couple’s Lot 2041 Humming Bird Street, Festival City, North Ruimveldt home on February 8, 2009.
A visibly-distressed Woolford listened intently as the probation officer read about his marriage having been plagued by domestic issues.
The probation officer said neighbours had described Woolford, a carpenter/contractor, as having a quiet disposition and many had expressed shock after learning of the charge levelled against him.
The officer said that the convict, now 41, maintained that he did not kill his wife.
In mitigation, defence attorney Peter Hugh said his client has a prior unblemished record and begged the court to take into consideration that he had already spent six years and seven months in custody owing to no fault of his.
Counsel pointed to the three trials which his client has had to face since previous juries were unable to arrive at unanimous guilty verdicts, which are required for murder convictions.
While acknowledging the unfortunate loss of life, Hugh said he would speculate that the jury would have had to find the presence of provocation, for which at that material moment his client would not have been “master of his mind.”
Counsel said that in his opinion there were no aggravating circumstances to warrant a lengthy sentence and begged the court to be lenient with his client.
Terming the incident as an “unfortunate” one, Justice Reynolds, in his admonition to Woolford, said the message of continually counselling oneself to exercise self-control must be conveyed, irrespective of acts of provocation.
The judge said that while persons may be provoked, especially in a “crime of passion” as the probation officer and defence advanced, “temperance” is important so that a person may be able exercise self-control when faced with such situations.
“Yes, there is provocation, but a life was lost, and so you must be punished,” Justice Reynolds told the convict, who wore a pensive look on his face.
The judge started the sentence at 20 years and deducted six years for time Woolford has already spent in prison and an additional year for his age and other mitigating factors raised by his attorney.
The father of three shook his head in disbelief as he exited the courtroom to be whisked away to prison.
Woolford was on trial for the third time. In March 2014, a jury had failed to arrive at a unanimous verdict in his first retrial, which led to Justice Navindra Singh ordering a second one.
In 2013, Justice James Bovell-Drakes had ordered a retrial after a jury had also failed to agree.
After hours of deliberations, directions, redirections and a lot of back and forth, the jury on June 19th found Woolford guilty of manslaughter.
Conway-Woolford was reportedly stabbed during an argument as she prepared to go to a friend’s house to do her hair. Woolford had entered the room with his hands behind his back and asked her where she was going. He then turned her around and stabbed her in her stomach in the presence of her then 11-year-old daughter. Conway-Woolford managed to escape to the upper flat of the home, where relatives were staying, and was subsequently rushed to the hospital where she underwent surgery. She had run out of the house, hollering “Tony bore me!”
She succumbed to her injuries the following day.
The state’s case was presented by attorneys Michael Shahoud and Mercedes Thompson.
