By Tahna Weston
The family of Wendy Jane Finch is displeased with the outcome of the trial against the young woman who pleaded guilty to manslaughter based on the gruesome manner in which she died.
The trial ended last week after Brittany Jno-Baptiste who was accused of murder pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
Jno-Baptiste had been charged with murdering the 66-year-old Piccadilly woman on October 4, 2021.
However, after taking the stand and admitting to killing Finch, her lawyer Wendel Alexander opted to have her plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.
During an interview with Observer, Finch’s sister, Joanna Finch, said “the family is quite outraged” at this decision “based on the brutality” of her sister’s killing.
“Well, my family is very distraught with the outcome that [she pleaded guilty with] diminished responsibility. Manslaughter is acceptable because it does hold a penalty of 25 to 35 years. And that is what we would like to see, that she has the stiffest penalty possible, because the brutal way in which she [JaneFinch] was murdered is just so unacceptable.
“It’s the fact that she went away and then came back and went into my sister’s house. So, this is the thing that is more than unfortunate, as she had said in prison, apparently to a prison guard, that it was unfortunate. But this idea of being delusional or having seen things because of being high on marijuana, that just feels like a story that was concocted afterwards. And that’s what it feels like to us. We are devastated by the brutality,” Joanna said.
The family members, some of whom live in Canada and Paris, were not present for the trial.
Joanna said she wished that someone could have been there on her sister’s behalf, as it is her belief that “things have gotten a little bit lax” with regards to the matter.
She said the family does not understand why the plea on the lesser count was accepted by the prosecution.
Jno-Baptiste was diagnosed by clinical and forensic psychologist Dr James King with cannabis-related disorders in 2022.
Joanna, who also once lived in Antigua, said everyone in the family is experiencing different levels of trauma as they process the evidence that was revealed during the trial, which they read about in online publications.
Joanna said she has learnt from a source at the prison that the 24-year-old woman described the incident as unfortunate, adding that it wasn’t supposed to turn out that way.
Jno-Baptiste testified during the trial that she was seeing jumbies and ghosts and that she was influenced by them.
“So, I think if she was that clear about having seen ghosts and jumbies, I understand jumbies. I used to live in Antigua. And when somebody is in an act of violence, there is always a moment of truth within the body. There is a body as a conscious being. The body has a conscious spirit in it.
“And there’s a choice that was made. She was angry. She was frustrated. She hadn’t gotten the drugs she wanted. And to have told these stories, I don’t believe this. No, I don’t have any sympathy for this. I don’t have any sympathy at all for her saying that she heard voices that told her to do it,” an emotional Joanna, who was brought to tears during the interview, said.
She said that she is still traumatized that she was not here for her sister. Following her tragic death she was unable to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she said with the assistance and emotional support of friends and family she is coping with the loss.
Describing herself as a peaceful, compassionate and loving person, Joanna said these were also attributes of her sister, who was an Antiguan citizen having been living here for at least 40 years.
Jno-Baptiste admitted that she killed Finch inside her Piccadilly home in 2021, after she refused her request to use her phone that night.
The 24 year old has apologized to Finch’s family for the pain she has caused them.
