By Latrishka Thomas
“I was trying to defend my life,” murder accused Kenroy ‘Kenny’ Joseph said, as he recounted an incident which led to the demise of Luciene Glennex Brodie, on February 24, 2016.
Both men reportedly got into an altercation at Mack Pond in All Saints, which led to Joseph arming himself with a sharp object which he used to inflict wounds to Brodie’s head.
Joseph, who was thirty-nine years old at the time, was charged with attempted murder, but that charge was elevated to murder after Brodie succumbed to his injuries on March 16 that year.
After the prosecutions final witness told the court what he saw on the day of the alleged killing, Joseph took the stand to tell his side of the story.
The accused, represented by lawyer Lawrence Daniels, began by explaining that he was employed as a labourer, on the Pavilion project taking place on the field where the incident occurred, by a politician.
He said that he could not manage to work every day because he also had his own farm, and after informing the politician, the person in charge of the project told him there was no work for him to do.
As a result, he went to the playing field on the day of the incident hoping to meet the politician and discuss the matter.
Joseph said that by virtue of the fact that he was coming straight from his farm, his cutlass was already in his waist and he did not remember it was there.
The defendant continued to state that he confronted the manager of the project saying to him “You mean me and you are family and you taking food out of my mouth when I have my little daughter to care for?”
He said that when walking in the direction of the Pavilion he saw Brodie dismantle a mattock.
They then got into an argument on the field and Brodie swung the wooden handle of the mattock and “it connected with my elbow,” Joseph recalled.
“I took the cutlass from my side and tried to chop the stick out of his hand. The cutlass fell from my hand and that’s when he hit me in my head, my chest and my stomach,” he continued to share.
He then said: “I fell to the ground back-way, so I had to scrabble because he was coming at me real aggressively. I scramble back to my feet and that’s when I defend myself and I chop him.”
Joseph said that he then left the field and drove off until he ran out of gas. At that point, he met a man who he told what happened before “passing out.”
He then begged a ride from a stranger to go to the hospital where he was prescribed painkillers and antibiotics before being taken into custody.
The prosecution in cross examining the accused suggested that Joseph was frustrated that he lost the job and went to the field in anger.
He responded by saying that he merely went there to speak to the politician but ended up having to defend himself against Brodie who not only hit him first, but reportedly said that he was going to kill him.
“It was a fight. He could have knocked my brains out of my head the same way. I’m sorry it happened that way, but I had no choice but to defend myself,” he asserted.
Both the defense and the prosecution closed their cases after two questions from the jury.
Joseph’s claim of self defense was also supported by some of the previous witnesses in the trial.
The matter was then adjourned to today for closing arguments from both sides.