Corentyne taxi driver Gavin Gill, who struck his wife with his car before stabbing and chopping her to death, was yesterday sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
In October, Gill appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the High Court in Berbice and he admitted that on the morning of Saturday March 30th, 2019, he murdered Omwattie Gill at Tulsie Street, Williamsburg Village, Corentyne.
During a probation report presented on Gill’s behalf yesterday, the court heard that Gill, 33, of Lot 187 Whim Village, Corentyne, had a history of attempting to commit suicide.
According to the report, he has two children with his previous partner and one daughter with the deceased.
The report explained that prior to the attack, the couple had separated and the deceased returned to her mother’s house but Gill visited the probation services in hopes of mending things with his wife.
He claimed that his wife neglected her household chores, which caused them to have issues. However, the deceased had told the probation officer that Gill was in the habit of borrowing large sums of money, which would embarrass her and that in one instance he even coerced her to pawn her jewellery to pay his debts. The report noted that although Gill begged forgiveness, the deceased insisted that he had done so before and did not change his behavior and so she refused to return to the home they once shared together.
Several days later, Gill threatened to murder the woman, causing her to seek a restraining order at the Magistrate’s Court against him.
Before sentencing the man yesterday, Justice Kissoon pointed out that Gill had no regard for the order and acted as if the deceased had no rights. The judge noted that not only did the accused hit the deceased with his car but he used a knife to inflict several stab injuries and returned with a cutlass in his attempt to sever her neck.
Stressing the rights of women and how they must be treated, the judge said that the sentence of the court must reflect the gravity of the crime and sentenced Gill to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
The State’s case was presented by Prosecutor Abigail Gibbs, while Gill was represented yesterday by attorney Surihya Sabsook.
Stabroek News previously reported that Gill inflicted stab and chop wounds on Omwattie, after intercepting her as she made her way to work.
According to an eyewitness, the man used a car, HC 4924, to hit the woman after which she became unconscious.
Gill then used a knife to deal the woman multiple stab wounds to her abdomen and back. He then used the knife to slash her forehead and throat, after which he grabbed a cutlass from his car and chopped her neck.
An autopsy revealed that Omwattie died from shock and haemorrhage due to stab wounds to her lungs.
Prosecutor Gibbs yesterday asked the court to consider the void that is now left in the hearts of the deceased’s family, while noting that even after he committed the crime he was constantly sending threats to the deceased’s mother, indicating that he had no remorse.
She pointed out that their three-year-old daughter is now left without a mother, and the court heard in a victim impact statement from the deceased’s mother that the child often asks for her mother, especially whenever she sees other children with their mothers.
