Joseph Kee, Taedron Bennett walk free
The murder of the Brannon brothers made headlines more than two years ago. From the onset there was speculation that the accused men would walk and that came to pass today when the indeed the two accused walked free today. The case started in early October and was adjourned due to administrative matters in the Justice system. It was reported that more than thirty witnesses would have testified in this sensational murder trial. But the first blow to the case came when charges against Ricardo Aguilar, the third person charged with the Brannon murders were withdrawn last year. Today, the case was shattered and now Joseph Kee and Taedron Bennett, despite testimony linking them to the murders, are free men. Justice Troadio Gonzalez discharged both Kee and Bennett at the request of the prosecution in the Supreme Court in Belmopan.
Kee and Bennett were charged with the murders of Phillip and Kevin Brannon who were shot and killed in the early morning hours of May fourteenth, 2006, on Albert Street while they were in a car parked in front of their parents’ house. Another brother, Basil Brannon and a friend, Marvin Humes, who were also in the car, were shot but they survived. Basil and Humes testified but they could not identify any of the shooters. However, another witness, Marsha Bailey, identified Kee as one of the persons she saw deliver the fatal shots. The fourth witness Fitzroy Yearwood was to take the stand this morning but Yearwood was a no-show.
Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Tait decided to discontinue the proceedings because of the incapacitation of its chief witness Police Officer Fitzroy Yearwood. She said Yearwood, a diabetic, is sick and is currently unable to testify. Yearwood’s testimony would have provided strong circumstantial evidence against Bennett and supporting evidence against Kee. Yearwood joins a growing list of officers who are unable to testify at trial. Branker-Tait also said that the case can be brought back as soon as Yearwood is well enough to make it to court. Kee and Bennett were represented by attorneys Dickie Bradley, Ellis Arnold and Michael Peyrefitte.
