Walker v The Queen
| Jurisdiction | Grenada |
| Judge | Haynes, P. |
| Judgment Date | 26 October 1984 |
| Neutral Citation | GD 1984 CA 9 |
| Docket Number | Criminal Appeal No. 2 of 1983 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Grenada) |
| Date | 26 October 1984 |
Court of Appeal
Haynes, C.J. Liverpool, J. Peterkin, J.
Criminal Appeal No. 2 of 1983
Mr. R.C. Grant for the appellant.
Mrs. M. Hylton Q.C.. Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr. Clouden (Crown Counsel) with her for the crown.
Criminal practice and procedure - Directions to jury on identification evidence — Murder — Whether the trial judge adequately dealt with the identification evidence — Whether guidelines in R. v. Turnbull [1976] 3 All E.R. 549 had been followed — Court found that the directions on identification gave the jury insufficient guidance, and without doubt, were unsatisfactory — Conviction of the appellant was unsafe and unsatisfactory — Appeal was allowed — Conviction was set aside — New trial was ordered in the interest of justice.
This court delivered an oral judgment of 26th October 1984 allowing this appeal. We set aside the conviction for murder and ordered a new trial. We now give our reasons for so doing.
On 20th June 1983 the appellant was convicted by a jury of the High Court on an indictment which alleged that on the night of Sunday the 9th day of August 1981 at Woburn in the parish of Saint George did commit murder by intentionally causing the death of one Paula Phillip by unlawful harm, contrary to section 234 of the Criminal Code Cap. 76 of the Revised Laws of Grenada. He was sentences to death. It is surprising that this appeal took so long to be listed for hearing. It may well be that the delay is excusable. But it is unfortunate nonetheless.
The case for the prosecution was short and simple. For two months the appellant and the deceased lived together as man and wife. Then, unhappiness followed. He packed up and left the home, which was here. Afterwards, he made efforts to return to her. She rejected him so he killed her. At the trial the crown called four witnesses. The first was Laurie Wilkinson, a neighbour of the deceased. We set down the main parts of his evidence as he gave it–
“I know the accused. On 9th August 1981 I was living at Woburn. Paula Phillip was living near to me. I did not know accused before. I now say before Paula's house damaged I knew him. About four months. On the night of 9th I was at home with my wife. I went to bed. Around half past twelve to one my wife woke me up. She spoke to me. I heard a bawling coming from Paula's house. A woman's voice was bawling, “Murder! Murder!.” It sounded like Paula voice. I know Rosalie, Paula's daughter. She lived with Paula. I saw Rosalie inside my house that night. I heard her speaking to my wife. I looked through the window and I saw Paula's house which is next door to mine. I saw lights. I saw light in Paula's. I continue to look at Paula's house. The bawling ended. Shortly after, I saw fire inside the house and then I saw a man jump out of a window in the house. I recognised the man. He was the accused. He left and was going away. Then he came back. He went back into the house. The blaze just spread bigger. The accused jump back out through the window and went away. I called for help. By time I got help, the whole house was ablaze. The house burn down. When everything was cleared, I saw a dead body lying on the spring of a bed. There was just the middle part of the body.”
He was cross-examined by counsel in answer to whom he said:
“I had known accused since four months before the accident took place. I did not know accused so well. He was living in Paula's house. The person I saw jump out the window. I saw him turn back and climb through the window facing the road out of which he jumped. I did not see him do anything in the house. The next thing I saw was the man jump back out a window. I gave evidence in the Magistrate's Court in oath. The magistrate wrote down what I said. He did not read it back to me. He merely made me sign what he had written. I did not tell the magistrate the man jump out the window and walk away and turned back entering the house and then jumping out the window again. Nobody asked me that. I saw a man in short pants, not wearing any top. I did not see him with anything. I know Paula's house. I know where her bedroom was from outside. It was on the backside of the house. There was window in that bedroom. He did not jump out Paula's window. Front door faces the road. There is a window that side. He jumped through that window. It was a dark night. My house was about eighty feet from Paula's, that is, to the end of this building from where I am.”
The next witness was Corporal Romain of the Criminal Investigations Department. We mention only some of his evidence. Referring to 10th August 1981, the Corporal said that–
“At about 1.00 p.m. that day, on information received, I left the Criminal Investigations Department in search of the accused. I met him at Camp Alistair in St. David's. I asked him “What are doing here?” He looked at me and did not reply. I then questioned the accused about the report I was investigating. I told him I was investigating the death of Paula Phillip and burnt out house. I had first identified myself to him. He made no reply to my questions. I told him I was detaining him for further questioning. I took him to Criminal Investigating Department the same day by Police Transport. On our way down I heard the accused saying: ‘Ah do what ah have to do already’. We got to the Criminal Investigation Department about 4:30 p.m. Accused reported to me that he was unwell, that he had pains in his stomach. I immediately took him to the General Hospital, St. George's where he was attended to by a doctor in my presence and was kept as a patient. He was still in police detention. He was discharged from the hospital on 9th September 1981 about 7.30 am. I took him to Criminal Investigations Department where I again questioned him about the report. He did not reply to my questions.”
Under cross-examination the witness said further:–
“I heard the accused say, ‘I do what I have to do already.’ I understood him to mean, ‘I kill Paula Phillip already.’ I interpreted him thus because it was the killing of Paula Phillip I was investigating. I do not know if Inspector James or the driver could have heard him. I do not think the Inspector was close enough to have heard what accused said. I took the accused to the hospital where he was detained as a patient. He was discharged after a month. I again questioned him and he did not answer.”
And then, to the court, he gave a rather startling bit of evidence when he said:
“Inspector James went to assist me in taking accused to the Criminal Investigations Department for questioning. I took him in case anything happened in the way, like if the accused tried to kill me.”
After this witness, the deceased's daughter Rosalie Phillip testified. She gave the most vital evidence. She described her acquaintance with the appellant, the house and the relationship between him and her deceased mother:–
“In August 1981 I was living with my mother at Woburn. My brother Terrence Phillip also lived in the house. He was four years old. I know accused about four months before 9th August 1981. He came to live with my mother. The house was a wooden house at the bottom side of main road. It had two bedrooms, one kitchen, drawing room and verandah. I occupied one bedroom. My mother occupied the other room with accused. There was a door to my room and one to my mother's room. The front door faced Woburn main road. Afterwards they used to quarrel. To my knowledge police had to come three or four times because of the quarrels. On the a last occasion police told him to take his things; the same day and left. He had been two months in the house. I knew that he came back to the house and spoke to my mother. He went to make back with my mother and she refused.”
Then she went on to speak of the events for the night of 9th August 1981:–
“On 9th August 1981, my mother and I returned home from Grand Anse about 10.30 p.m. We went to bed. I was reading in bed in my room. My mother was in her room which is next to mine. There was no light in my room mother's. There is electricity in the house. There is a lamp in the house, a kerosene lamp with a chimney. That was in mother's room. I know it had oil. There was no light in the house at oil. I was reading by moonlight. The moon was up while I was reading. I heard stones falling on the roof of the house. My mother and I went to the kitchen to put on the outside light. We went back to our rooms.”
So then there were no lights in the house, the witness was reading by moonlight, a light was on somewhere “outside” when the crucial events happened. She said:–
“The next thing that happened was that the front door was broken down. I saw accused the enter through the door. He was wearing a three quarter brown pants and had a cutlass in his right hand. He was not wearing anything on the top of his body. He kicked my room further open. He went into my mother's room. I heard my mother bawling, ‘Murder! Murder!’ I heard things being thrown down like a scrambling was going on. I mean there were sounds like if a fight was a going on. I jumped through my room window and went to Mr. Wilkinson's home about 60 to 65 feet away from my house. I reached Wilkinson's house, I to spoke Wilkinson. From his house I saw my mother's house. There was smoke coming from my mother's bedroom. I saw Terrence run out of the house. He came to Wilkinson's house. Then I saw flames coming from the house. I started bawling. I remained at Mr. Wilkinson until police and fire brigade came. The house burned down. I next saw my mother at La Qua's Funeral Home. She was in plastic — her head and torso. There were no arms no feet.”
As was to be expected, she was cross- examined at some length. And she stated:
“When I went to Wilkinson's house I spoke to him and Mrs. Wilkinson. I told him Humphrey Walker entered my mother's...
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