OBSERVER NEWSCO: The woman alleged to have unlawfully entered the home of 66-year-old homicide victim Jane Finch last October has been found mentally unfit to stand trial on a burglary charge emanating from the incident.
Brittany Jno-Baptiste – who is said to have an undisclosed psychological disorder – was subsequently remanded to prison pending the results of further psychological evaluation.
The 21-year-old woman appeared before Magistrate Nagio Emanuel-Edwards in All Saints Magistrate’s Court yesterday where a prosecutor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions briefly shared the findings of an initial report.
The psychiatrist recommended that Jno-Baptiste should receive six months of treatment after which she will be re-evaluated and the case could potentially proceed.
But after hearing from the other side of the bar table, Wendel Robinson who represents the accused indicated that he is yet to receive the report and expressed concern about whether there is space at the Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital, as well as the presence of mind-altering drugs in the prison.
The matter was adjourned until February 9 to allow time to determine the best facility to house the defendant for the treatment.
Jno-Baptiste, who appeared fidgety during the court hearing, was also in good spirits.
In fact, on her way back to her seat, she stopped short of a high-five and instead hugged her mother and thanked her for “snacks and water”.
Finch was found dead in her Piccadilly home on October 4 last year, shortly after she had called the Dockyard Police Station and posted a desperate plea for help on Facebook, stating that an intruder was in the process of breaking into her home.
It is said that when the police arrived on the scene, the attack had already occurred and the suspect was still in the house.
It is believed that a knife and another sharp object had been used to inflict the fatal wounds on the woman.
Jno-Baptiste was later charged with burglary, but further charges had been delayed due to the absence of a psychiatric evaluation.
Meanwhile, the police have again appealed for patience as they continue to investigate the homicide.
Police spokesperson Acting Assistant Commissioner Frankie Thomas issued the appeal as Finch’s family members and well wishers intensify their appeal for justice.
“We continue to do what we can do to bring closure to this matter and so I just hope that at the end of it the general public will understand and come to appreciate that much is being done and we just ask for your continued patience as we continue our investigation into this matter,” he said.
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
She deem unfit to stand trial and well dress up so???
The justice system in this country is pure garbage boss.
How the hell victim’s family and friends suppose to accept this. Come on man, does the law provide coverage for the accused more it does for the victim???
I am appalled!!!
Is there a certain way people who are mentally unfit ought to dress? A plain blouse, basic jeans and a pair of cheap sandals is your version of ´dress up?
mental issue is real…y’all are so insensitive to theses ppl who suffer daily from mental illness. what is proper attire for a mental patient…i guess she should have dressed as a vagrant.
If she is sane enough to stop and big up she old lady and thank she for snack and water then she sane enough to stand trial. Plain and simple.
That’s right
This #Insanity plea for murder is becoming bothersome!
Plain and simple, protect your private space, and your personal rights. Kill before you get killed!
If she’s found unfit, so be it, but why are they hesitating on the murder charge? If she’s unfit for murder, she’s also unfit for burglary. She was found in flagrante, so she should charged with murder and held at Clarevue until she’s deemed fit.
Because there are different types of murder charges. They have to determine her intent.
Thank you! This is so correct
The white woman should have killed this crazy woman and saved her own life.
It’s like women in Antigua always have some kind of tangential excuse for their wickedness. I hope she rots in jail she dutty self. Nasty murderer.
So your NOT insane when you deliberately entered the house.
So your NOT insane when you deliberately stabbed a woman to death unprovoked…HOW YOU KNOW TO JUS BREAK INTO A HOUSE JUS SO AND STAB UP THIS WOMAN.?
You break in a home stab the woman MULTIPLE TIMES ….WHICH SHOWS ANGER…..NOT 1 time but MULTIPLE TIMES .
BUT YOUR NOT FIT TO STAND TRIAL…….ooookkkkkk
I TRULY hope someone in jail PURPOSELY STABB HER RARSE TO DEATH ..B IBLE SAY AN EYE 4 AN EYE…
Have you seen/experienced an insane person in action before? It is NOT a pretty sight. Leave the explanations to the professionals. That is why a psychiatrist is involved in the case and not you or me.
I’d like to know. If some crazy lady breaks into my home and I kill her before she kills me, will I be taken to jail and charged with murder?
In my World,it is kill or be killed.
They will still charge you for murder although the intruder came in your house and try to kill you but before they kill you you kill em. The thing is Antigua system and law here full of shit and are backwards in so many ways. Now…a guy with drugs get charged for 25 years. A murderer gets 10 years. Help me to understand if this makes sense.
Another scenario. You call the police.There has been an accident.Most cases they come within an hour or two. Okayyyyy. You call the police and tell them my neighbour have drugs, see how fast they reach. They reach within less the 20 mins. Tell me somebody….does this make sense. We all know this is the truth. I feel some people using psychiatric behaviour to get away with murder.Who knows? Maybe she was working for the lady and the lady owed her. Who knows? There are so much to a story that we dont know until we have so many questions.
Such is life. But i am appealing to all public. Please make sure you lock up and secure your property tight.Plant weapons such as knife or cutlass every where in your home. You never know when it could be you. You work too hard to meet a stranger in your house and that stranger happen to kill you. I dont care what nobody say. Anybody entering my property is dead.Only in Antigua.
Oh be quiet with your “only in Antigua” bullcrap. You better leave the Cry Down Country Club. Worse things happen in other countries, especially the so-called “developed” ones. Why don’t you move to Afghanistan?
In other countries if someone enters your home with intent to hurt you one can defend themselves without being charged. I guess I’ll be going to jail. Antigua laws on home attacks need to be revisited. Think about how angry and hurt this woman’s family must feel dealing with this unjust system.
Where I am living and someone did break into my home.If that person is coming towards me as I entered my home.I have the right to pull and fire.However,if I opened my front door and the individual ran by me.I cannot shoot that person,because my life would not be in any danger. I were to pull and fire and hurt that person,I could be charged with a crime.
Police reach quick for drug crime because them want drugs for themselves to sell. Them no mek much money salary wise
Comments are closed.