By Latrishka Thomas
“I wish I had known him so he would see the different person I am,” convicted murderer Kenworth Charles said yesterday as he expressed what appeared to be genuine remorse for killing Fitzroy Robins in 2020.
Charles, a former IT technician at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, was found guilty of killing Robins, a former soldier, in February 2022.
The strangers first met at a bar, months before the tragic night. An altercation ensued when Charles refused to pay for beers he took from a woman’s cooler and tried to leave, but was stopped by Robins who approached him armed with a knife and asked him to pay for the drinks, which he did.
The accused never returned to that location again until the day of the murder when the two bumped into each other for the second time.
An argument ensued between Charles and Robins and they began to scuffle.
Charles, of Newfield, stabbed Robins several times with a knife.
The defendant’s counsel argued in trial that his client was intoxicated and did not intend to kill Robins.
The jury however believed that the incident was not an accident, finding Charles guilty of murder.
The man, who is in his 30s, has since been awaiting sentencing and yesterday the sentencing hearing began with a probation officer presenting a social inquiry report he had conducted.
The 13-page report detailed the defendant’s remorse as well as statements from his colleagues who described him as a hard worker who went above the call of duty.
Persons from Charles’ community described him as fun-loving, but said he became aggressive whenever he consumed alcohol.
The probation officer said he concluded that the man had no intention of hurting anyone but suffers from alcoholism.
Charles’ former boss at the hospital also took the stand telling the court how friendly and jovial the accused was.
He said that the accused was of such good character and esteem that about 150 hospital staff signed a petition begging the court for mercy.
When it was Charles’ turn to speak, he appeared contrite.
“It was not my intention to murder Mr Fitzroy Robins,” he said directly to the deceased’s family.
“I don’t know him from nowhere. I wish I had known him so he would see the different person I am,” he said, suggesting that he had acted out of character.
Charles went on to explain that he avoided the bar for a couple of months and went there on that night after curfew thinking that no one would be there.
The question of treatment for the father-of-two’s alcoholism was a sticking point during the hearing.
The sentencing was therefore adjourned to allow the prosecution to look into the issue of rehabilitation.
Charles is now set to be sentenced on May 25.