Basse Terre:--- The judge and jury of the General Assizes in Basse Terre heard from the mother of the main murder suspect who killed Cecilia Henry on October 3rd, 2011. When the trial resumed on Wednesday Imelda Relus was interviewed but her statements to the court seems to cause more confusion since it appeared as though Relus tried to minimize her role in the brutal killing of Cecilia Henry. Relus told the court when she threw a stone at Henry her intention was not to hit her but to make her aware of her presence at the scene where the fight between Karell Marcellin and Cecilia Henry was taking place. Relus told the court she wanted to stop the constant fights between her daughter and Henry, yet she is the one that bought the two weapons that were used to inflict 60 stab wounds on the young woman they described as a terror in the French Quarter community.
Relus also did the same as her daughter when it came down to the actual acts of stabbing and chopping Henry by claiming she could not remember how it all happened.
The trial continued with a video conference of two witnesses from St. Martin. The first was the director of the investigation who confirmed to the court that there were several fights (brawls) between the main suspect Karell Marcellin and the victim Cecila Henry prior to October 3rd, 2011 when the brutal murder took place. The lead investigator said from the inception when they began the investigation the two suspects tried to manipulate the investigators especially when answering questions based on the evidence that they had in their possession. The first day of the trial ended with the hearing of a second witness who saw what took place on that fatal day October 3rd, 2011.
On the second day of the trial both suspects mother and daughter accused the late Cecilia Henry of causing the incident that took her life. The pathologist told the court that Henry's body bore 39 wounds caused by a knife, but there were many injuries and scratches that were throughout the body of the victim. There were wounds from head to foot, through her chest, and even on her buttocks.
The pathologist concluded that the suspects used force when they attacked Henry; some of the wounds were so deep that they caused bone damage and fractures. The tip of the knife was found in the victim's right ear.
Attorney at law Jan Marc Ferly had a lively exchange in the court with one of the defense lawyers when he tried to convince the court that the victim was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident. Maitre Ferly asked the defense and the suspects show some respect for the dead. The trial continues on Friday.