A witness told the No. 4 Supreme Court she rushed to a St James neighbourhood after receiving a late-night call from Zonelle Sobers, saying she and Ronald Smokey Skeete had been stabbed, only to find Sobers bleeding in a garage and later learn that Skeete had died.
Romancia Odwin, of Whopping, Orange Hill, St James, is on trial charged with the murder of Skeete between July 18 and 19, 2020, and unlawfully wounding Zonelle Sobers with intent to maim, disfigure or disable her, or to cause her other serious bodily harm, and with unlawfully and maliciously wounding her.
Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC and State Counsel Paul Prescod are prosecuting the case, while Sade Harris, in association with Michael Lashley SC, represents Odwin.
Taking the witness stand before a 12-member jury, Melanie Broomes said she knew both Sobers, also called Natalie, and Skeete from working with them at the fish market.
While at home on July 18, she received a call from Sobers saying she and Skeete had been stabbed, and hurried to the area where she found Sobers sitting in the garage of “a big wall house” after midnight, she said.
Broomes recalled: “I went to Natalie and ask what happened. She hold my hand and a gentleman was assisting her with the blood coming from her. As she go to tell me what happened, a young lady passed and (Sobers) squeezed my hand. So I ask what happen and she say, ‘That’s her’.”
Odwin was the woman the wounded Sobers identified, Broomes said, adding that Sobers pointed to the accused, who was heading into the house.
A police officer also questioned Sobers and an ambulance arrived, she added.
“The officer asked where is the person that did it and Romancia was at the time standing up outside the house, talking to a gentleman. So the officer went to her and walked her up the gap to the scene,” the witness said, adding that Sobers repeatedly asked if Skeete was all right. Broomes said she was later informed by an ambulance attendant that Skeete had died.
During cross-examination by Harris, Broomes said she and Sobers had been close friends “for years” and that Sobers and Skeete were in a relationship.
The witness added that Sobers had told her Skeete was sexually involved with a young woman he used to drop off at work, and that Sobers had threatened to end their relationship unless he stopped speaking to the woman, but he continuously denied any involvement.
Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell presides.
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