Relatives of Colleen Forrester yesterday struggled to contain their tears of relief as High Court Judge Roxane George sentenced the men accused of killing her to a total of 117 years in prison.
Earlier this month, a jury had found Anthony De Paul Hope called ‘Papa’ and Ralph ‘Nick’ Tyndall guilty of the murder of Forrester.
The woman was killed between December 26, 2007 and January 6, 2008 the day her body was discovered wrapped in a sheet and stuffed in the septic tank of the William Street, Campbellville property she was looking after for her brother. Hope’s prison term is 62 years and Tyndall’s 55.
Sentencing had been deferred to yesterday after Justice George granted an application by Hope’s lawyer Melville Duke to have a probation report prepared for his client. Reports were done for both convicts.
Tyndall’s probation report revealed that although he is calm and non-violent, he tends to gravitate towards persons with questionable character. Probation officer Debra Singh added that Tyndall continues to maintain his innocence in the crime.
Hope’s report revealed a story of a broken home and troubled childhood that negatively affected him in his formative years. The factors cited included losing his father at a young age, dropping out of school at the age of 14 and entering the world of work and his mother migrating to Barbados.
Probation officer Carol Beresford described Hope as having a void following those events. Beresford said he admitted his involvement in the crime, but only insofar as he helped to dispose of Forrester’s body.
Additionally, the report revealed he once had a close relationship with Forrester as she had cared for him and his siblings when they were younger and his family was experiencing financial difficulties. And when he returned from Barbados, Forrester took him in when he had nowhere else to stay.
State Attorney Stacy Goodings reminded the court that a serious crime had been committed against Forrester and to add insult to injury, her body was disposed of in “a most demeaning manner.”
She also emphasized that both Tyndall and Hope failed to properly make use of the opportunities given to them to better themselves. The attorney related that neither of them showed any remorse for their actions as they continued to play the blame game.
In mitigation on behalf of Tyndall, attorney Madan Kissoon described his client as someone who was beneficial to society prior to his incarceration. Kissoon said that even though Tyndall did not get far in school, he nevertheless sought gainful employment up to the point when he was arrested for the murder.
Kissoon further said that even though Tyndall’s parents had been separated, his client did not allow that to be a hindrance in his life as he continued to positively contribute to society.
More so, the lawyer spoke of his client’s unblemished record, stating that Tyndall had never even been arrested prior and was not a known character to the police. He told the court that his client’s misfortune lay in him being a victim of the “wrong company, as well as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Duke, in his submission emphasized Hope’s troubled childhood as a major factor that negatively influenced his behaviour. However, Justice George reminded Duke that not every child who comes from such situations turns out to be a murderer.
Nevertheless, the attorney reiterated sections of the probation report that described Hope as having a void in his life, adding that the void manifested itself in his client’s conduct.
He posited that Hope had taken the steps to better his education as he had enrolled in the prison’s literacy programme. This, however, contradicted Hope’s sworn testimony earlier in the trial where he told the court that he could not read or write.
Additionally, Duke described the situation as one in which, “the death of a family member tears a family apart,” while urging the judge to not “go seeking a pound of flesh but rather have mercy on my client.”
In a brief address to the court before knowing his fate, Tyndall said, “My Worship, I am innocent of the events, I already spent 7 years in prison. With all due respect, I’m asking that you be lenient with me this afternoon.
“I also want to say sorry for the life of Colleen Forrester… I did not assist anybody to do anything to her and I myself didn’t do anything to her.”
But he was once again contradicted by his co-accused, Hope who identified Tyndall as being the one truly responsible for the woman’s death.
After apologizing for trying to escape from lawful custody on his way to the sentencing hearing, Hope related that he had been having nightmares while in prison. “These past 8 years, I have been through a lot in prison with myself and people around me,” he said.
He went on to beg forgiveness for wasting the court’s time and “going into the witness box and speaking certain things I was not supposed to speak….I never lay hands on my aunty or do anything to harm her, My Worship.”
Forrester’s relatives, who were already crying, sobbed louder at this point.
Hope continued, “I love my aunty… I don’t give Tyndall wrong for saying those things about me because he don’t want his family to know what he has done.
“He try to put everything on me, but he didn’t know everything would’ve turn back on he the same way. My Worship, God is my witness as I stand here today, Tyndall is the person who murdered my aunty.”
Tyndall sat in the prisoners’ dock, seemingly unmoved by the words uttered by Hope who had been described as his “school days friend” during the trial.
Turning his attention to the weeping relatives of the deceased who crowded the courtroom, Hope continued to beg for forgiveness.
“I just want to ask Cleon Forrester [the dead woman’s son] and my small cousin Alika Forrester to forgive me for not telling them the truth and keeping everything to myself,” he said, tears streaming down his face.
Hope maintained that the only role he played in the crime was to help dispose of the woman’s body.
“When I bring up the last bucket of water, I see Nick on my aunty, choking her, the only thing he tell me is that all two of we gon get charged for this,” he said as he wiped the tears from his face.
Before handing down her sentence, Justice George noted the continuation of the blame game being played by the two men. Nevertheless, she said, the circumstantial evidence against Tyndall and Hope was overwhelming.
While noting that Tyndall’s probation report was in his favour, the judge acknowledged the fact that he continued to deny his involvement in the crime.
On the other hand, she said Hope had not been as fortunate in his probation report while adding that neither of the two men had shown remorse for what happened.
“Family members are still obviously in shock and distress as to why their cousin [Hope] would be so cruel to their mother [Forrester],” she added.
Handing down the sentences, Justice George explained that because he had more mitigating factors in his favour, Tyndall would receive a shorter sentence than Hope.
Hope was sentenced to a total of 62 years in prison, after having 8 years shaved off from the 70 years Justice George started with to account for the time he had already spent in prison. She ordered that Hope only become eligible for parole after having served 40 years of his sentence.
Tyndall was sentenced to 55 years in prison, after 10 years were deducted from the 65 years the judge started with for his time served and mitigating factors. He will be eligible for parole after having served 25 years of his sentence.
Although the sentences were met with satisfaction by the majority of the spectators present for the hearing, a few persons were seen shedding tears as they watched the men being swept away in a big, green police van.
