When Royale Achim Trotman’s murder trial continued yesterday the deceased woman’s brother Henry Edghill testified.
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Trotman is accused of murdering his 74-year-old neighbour Phyllis Edghill between November 28 and December 1, 2021, a charge to which he has pleaded not guilty. The accused is of No. 6 Gall Hill Terrace, St John, while the deceased lived next door at No. 7.
Due to health challenges, Henry, a retiree, could not testify, so a court clerk read his evidence to Supreme Court No. 2A, where Justice Elwood Watts is presiding and a 12-member jury is hearing the case.
In that statement to police, Henry, who was 78 at the time, said his sister was the seventh of their parents’ nine children, attended Foundation School and moved to England after completing her secondary education. She married, had three children and a grandson.
Henry described her as a kind, welcoming person who held sporting events while she was in England and was paid for doing so. They both moved back to Barbados.
His sister had asked him to help her find a house, and the choice was eventually between one in St Philip and another at Gall Hill Terrace, St John. His sister opted to buy the St John house.
The witness said it was not in the best condition and needed some work. He was uncomfortable visiting her there and never went inside, because there were always a lot of men around the house whom they did not know, but who were helping her to renovate the house. He was also uncomfortable with the company she kept because they smoked marijuana.
As a result he never visited with her for long periods, but when she called and needed his help, he would go there. Sometimes she would call to borrow tools or ask for a ride, he said.
Henry said that about two months prior to her death, she asked to borrow a drill. When he took it, she told him that she and her neighbour did not get along well. She then gave him three keys and told him that if anything ever happened to her, he should collect the things from inside the house before “they get them”, although she never explained either “they” or “the things”.
That was the last time he spoke to his sister.
The next call he received was on December 1, 2021, when his sisters called to tell him that Phyllis’ daughter Karen had told them that her mother was dead, and they suspected it was an unnatural death. He was given a number to call police and an Officer Barrow, which he did.
He was also the one who identified his sister’s body.
The case continues today. Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis is prosecuting the matter, in association with State Counsel Dr Zoe King, and attorney Lalu Hanoman is representing accused Trotman. (SD)