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Prince Moore reports
A man who was charged 15 years ago for the murder of a homeowner at a property in St. Andrew has been convicted before the Home Circuit Court.
Steve Dawkins, a 49-year-old resident of Central Village in St. Catherine, was found guilty of the murder of a 67-year-old Derrick Lord.
Mr. Lord was found tied up with his mouth gagged and a stab wound to the neck at his home in Kirk Avenue, St. Andrew on August 5, 2010.
Prosecutors led evidence that a neighbour heard shouts of "Murder, murder! Him a kill me!" as well as "Call the police!" and "Summon the police!".
Dawkins was captured fleeing the premises by members of a quick response team who rushed to the scene. Blood was on his clothing.
There was no sign of forced entry.
Dawkins had denied committing the crime and told investigators that he went to Mr. Lord's home to steal mangoes and was in the tree when he heard cries of help and saw a man running from the premises.
But prosecutors rejected his defence and used DNA test results to connect him to the murder of Mr. Lord.
The cause of death was asphyxia, secondary to choking due to aspiration of blood caused by a stab wound to the neck.
In a statement Thursday, the Director of Public Prosecutions argued that the case took 15 years to go to trial because of delaying tactics by Dawkins.
According to the DPP, since 2010, the accused changed defence attorneys on 10 occasions and this contributed to the inordinate delay of the trial.
Dawkins will be sentenced on June 26.
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