Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe:--- The judge of instruction of Pointe-à-Pitre, Brice Hansmaan has determined that suspects Karelle Marcelin and her mother Imelda Relus will have to stand trial for premeditated murder and assassination for the brutal slaying of Cecilia Henry. Their case was sent to the Criminal Assizes where they will stand trial. The court determined after reviewing all the evidence provided to them that the case is classified as assassination under articles 132-72, 132-75,221-1, 221-3, 221-8, 221-9, and 221-11 of the penal code.
The order was pronounced by the judge of instruction after the relatives of the late Cecilia Henry retained well known victim's lawyer Jan Marc Ferly to defend and seek damages for Henry's death. The judgment was pronounced on July 19, 2012. Judge Hansmaan also ordered that the file be transferred without delay to the Prosecutor General of the French Republic and the Court Recorder of the Criminal Assizes (Criminal Courts) of Basse Terre, Guadeloupe.
Cecilia Henry was brutally murdered by the mother and daughter of Haitian decent in the vicinity of French Quarter Pharmacy and the Gess Gas Station on October 3rd, 2011.
According to the "Avis Ordonnance Rendue", several witnesses to the brutal murder were heard by the court during a "mise en examen." Karelle Marcelin told the court that she was attacked several times by Cecilia Henry and on at least two occasions she was hospitalized and had to stay away from work for 12 days. Besides the constant attacks that left her traumatized, Marcelin had problems at home because her mother could not accept her homosexuality. Marcelin admitted to the judge that her mother bought a knife for her to take to work so that she could defend herself against any further attack by Henry.
Imelda Relus was described as a violent mother by two of her daughters who told the court that they were forced to leave their mother's home because of her violent behavior. However, Relus had no previous convictions. She is the mother of six children and her only source of income was from the CAF. Karelle Marcelin had a previous conviction in March 2009 for aggression and use of a weapon, she spent 15 days behind bars for that crime.
Henry received over 40 to 50 stab wounds to her upper body and part of a metal blade was also found in her right eye. Henry received 39 stabs wounds in less than one minute based on video footage provided to the court.
The mother and daughter also admitted to the investigators (gendarmes) that they were the ones that attacked and killed Henry. Marcelin also told the court that the latest attacks started between her and Henry when Henry stole a handbag belonging to one of her best friends. Marcelin claims that this bag contained several important documents. Marcelin also admitted to the court that she took a knife in her handbag that morning when she left her home to go to work. She said her intention was to defend herself against Henry who was constantly attacking her. Imelda Relus used a machete she bought in Marigot a few days earlier which she said she would use to kill Cecilia Henry. Several witnesses told the court that Imelda Relus was seen numerous times walking up and down Rue de St. Georges with a machete saying that she will kill Cecilia Henry with the machete she bought solely for that purpose.
Witnesses and persons who knew the mother of Karelle Marcelin told the court that while the Imelda Relus was known to be a strict mother she was highly offended that her daughter was attacked so many times. One witness told the court that Relus' main intention that fatal day was to defend her daughter. They said the mother even hired a private bus to take her daughter to and from work but that did not help. Marcelin attacked Cecilia Henry on October 3rd, 2011 when she got off a bus and saw Henry on a bicycle. Henry was attacked from behind and both mother and daughter dealt her several blows causing her death almost instantaneously. It should be noted that Karelle Marcelin filed several complaints with the Gendarmerie against Cecilia Henry.
The sisters of Cecilia Henry and her grandmother also provided the court with the colorful life of Cecilia Henry whom they said lost her mother when she was just two years old. The court was also told that Henry was brought up by her grandmother but she became aggressive when she began using illicit drugs. Her grandmother said Cecilia left her house when she began frequenting a young man and he too was under the influence of drugs.
The relatives of the deceased admitted to the court that their sister was not an easy person and that she did what she could to survive alone. One of the relatives told the court that Cecilia felt that she was abandoned by her relatives and as such she did what she thought she needed to do to survive. The relatives and the court in its ruling stated that despite Henry's past and her behavior, the killing was not warranted.
It should be noted that even though that the judge finds that there are sufficient evidence to charge the mother and daughter with the capital offence, the mother and daughter are innocent until proven guilty in Criminal Courts.