Romano Mitchel appeared in Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on November 14 for the judgment regarding his guilt of the murder of Stephen Jacobs.
Mitchel had admitted to stabbing the deceased but posited that he acted out of self-defence.
In her judgment, the presiding magistrate indicated both of the State’s witnesses, the brother of the deceased and the friend of the deceased that were with him on the night of the murder, were reliable and can be considered to have witnessed the events on the night.
The magistrate indicated both of the witnesses were mistaken on the amount of stabs that were inflicted on the deceased but that this does not invalidate the rest of their testimony as the accused corroborated aspects of their testimony in his own evidence in chief.
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Remanded into custody
The magistrate indicated that there were several inconsistencies within the testimony of the accused.
Among these inconsistencies were his intentions when approaching the deceased, why he did not call for help if he was being assaulted and how he would have managed to have trapped the knife under his arm without receiving any cuts. She found the testimony of the accused to be unreliable.
She indicated he appeared to tailor his testimony to fit the questions being put to him. The court accepted the version of the State and rejected the accused’s version of events.
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The court also accepted that the accused was the aggressor in the situation, thereby voiding the defence’s version that he acted in self-defence.
The court found Mitchel guilty of the dolus directus murder of Jacobs. Dolus directus refers to the intent of his actions being to kill the deceased.
Mitchel’s bail was immediately cancelled by the guilty finding and he was remanded into custody.
Sentencing proceedings will commence on February 1 after reports have been compiled by both the defence and State.
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