By Latrishka Thomas
After deliberating for nearly four hours yesterday, a nine-member jury reached a verdict in the attempted murder trial of Jeconiah Carbon, and found him guilty.
Eight of the nine jurors voted to convict the 24-year-old Emergency Medical Technician of committing the offence with which he was charged.
The trial, which lasted just over a week, centred on a January 6, 2020 incident at Dove Trail in Yeptons, where 19-year-old Carbon lured a homosexual man 10 years his senior to the location under the pretence of having a sexual encounter.
According to evidence presented in the trial, both men began communicating on social media in 2018 when Carbon was 17 and the victim was 27 years old.
Their conversations include requests from the accused for the victim to purchase items for him including an iPhone. Meanwhile, the victim requested nude pictures of Carbon, which he received, but never fulfilled most of his promises.
However, the victim did lend Carbon $100 but he could not repay the debt.
Carbon subsequently agreed to have sex with the victim in exchange for the debt, and they arranged to meet on January 6, 2020.
However, despite the victim’s attempts to cancel the date due to other commitments, Carbon insisted on meeting him that night.
The victim picked up Carbon — who had armed himself with a kitchen knife which he later claimed was for protection – and drove to a secluded area at Dove Trail.
The assault occurred after the victim had undressed and knelt in the back of the car. Carbon initially began to engage in intimate contact with him but suddenly pulled out the kitchen knife and slashed the victim’s throat before inflicting multiple stab wounds on other parts of his body. The victim managed to escape and subsequently drove himself to hospital.
Medical evidence presented at trial documented extensive injuries, including a critical 10-centimeter laceration near the victim’s carotid artery. He also sustained wounds to his back, thigh, calf, shoulder, and elbow.
Carbon received minor injuries during the struggle.
Defence Attorney Michael Archibald portrayed Carbon, the son of a Reverend, as a confused teenager who had been groomed by a “predator”.
The defence claimed Carbon had a change of heart about the sexual encounter and was being forced to continue, alleging that the victim held him by the throat and touched him after he withdrew consent.
Prosecutor Paulio Williams successfully countered this narrative, depicting Carbon as a manipulator who was seeking money and an easy lifestyle by exploiting the victim’s sexual orientation.
Williams emphasized Carbon’s insistence on meeting that night — despite the victim’s attempts to cancel — as evidence of premeditation.
The prosecutor also noted that the location of the victim’s wounds — many of which were on his back — contradicted Carbon’s claim of being forcibly held.
The jury, comprised of six women and three men, ultimately rejected the defence’s version of events.
Justice Tunde Bakre will sentence Carbon on March 14. Until then, he will remain on remand at His Majesty’s Prison due to his bail being revoked.
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