Wife of Man Charged with Double Murder Granted Bail

Jovannie McKoy

Last Thursday, police arrested and charged twenty-nine year-old Jovannie O’Brien of Unitedville, Cayo for the double murder of eighteen-year-old Lloyd Myvett and his neighbour, nine-year-old Jamir McKoy. They were both shot near McKoy’s house.  On Tuesday, O’Brien appeared before the Supreme Court for bail and was denied.  His wife, Bettina O’Brien, who was also charged for keeping a firearm without a gun license, was granted bail. Her attorney, Dickie Bradley accused the police of bringing trumped up charges against Jovannie and says there was no consideration given to O’Brien’s wife at the magistrate’s level.

On the Phone: Dickie Bradley, Attorney-at-law

“Police were looking for him, went to his residence where his wife who is a national of Switzerland was at home and the Police claimed that they found a bullet over a door. On that allegation, they held on to the wife and took her to the station and likewise with Mr. O’Brien. Now we in this business who’ve been around a while know that the Police really wanted to get their hand on Mr. O’Brien as a suspect in a murder. And so this da what former Judge Lucas would refer to as a holding charge. Deh suddenly find one bullet over wa door and another bullet somewhere in the back of the house and they use that to hold on to Jovannie until they can get sufficient evidence to bring the charge of murder against him. They are the parents of a twin – they’re two young children, two or three years old. I think that was probably another factor why the judge felt it a little unfair for people locked up, being a stranger and having twins and none of the parents are available.  The law is very clear, it had been applied in the Arthur Saldivar instance and several other instances thereafter, that a magistrate cannot grant bail to anybody charged with a firearm offence but the law goes on to explain that for special reasons, a Magistrate can do that. A magistrate turned down Mrs. O’Brien, but Supreme Court Justice Francis Cumberbatch granted her bail.”

Supreme Court Justice Francis Cumberbatch granted Bettina O’Brien bail on the condition that she cannot leave Belize without the permission of the Supreme Court and to report to the San Ignacio Police Station every week.