Fmr Prison Officer slapped with life sentence for killing wife

Former Prison Officer Sheldon Prince, who fatally stabbed his wife, Lonnette Nicholson-Prince, in the compound of the New Amsterdam Psychiatric Hospital in 2016, was slapped with a life sentence by Justice Sandil Kissoon.
The convicted murderer had confessed to stabbing his wife to death on December 28, 2016.
However, the former Prison Warden first appeared before Justice Kissoon at the Berbice High Court on February 14, 2022, for the capital offence of murder.
It was reported that on the day in question, the now dead woman had just arrived for duty at the National Psychiatric Hospital when Prince visited and asked to speak with her but she refused.

As she was walking away, Prince pulled out a knife and stabbed her 15 times about the body in the presence of co-workers. He then made good his escape but later turned himself over to the Police.
The State was represented by prosecutor Abigail Gibbs while Prince was represented by Attorney-at-Law Murseline Bacchus.
During his sentencing hearing, a probation report revealed that his father’s abusive tendencies towards his mother has caused him to become depressed and he developed mental health challenges.
Soon after his parents’ separation, Prince was affected both emotionally and psychologically. The probation report also stated that the convicted murderer left school at the age of 16.
He added that his initial relationship with Lonnette Prince was “one of love” but things changed after he accused her of being unfaithful while he was at work. This caused them to separate and as such, he was denied access to his daughter.
In light of this, Prince told the probation officer that his wife had become hostile towards him while noting his wife’s infidelity and her promiscuous lifestyle had provoked him and as such, his actions were not deliberate.
He claimed that he was embarrassed and humiliated when the now dead woman had confirmed that she was seeing someone else even though they were married. On the other hand, the victim’s parents related that their daughter had confided in them that she was being abused by the murder convict.
As such, the victim, the court heard, had secured a protection order, which was granted on November 5, 2016.

The couple’s nine-year-old daughter, who was also interviewed by the probation office, had recalled her father telling her that he was going away and that she will not see him for a long time. The was via telephone on the morning of her mother’s death.
In tears, Prince told the court that his wife’s parents were always interfering in their relationship and that all he wanted, was to be good gather to his daughter. “I marry at a young age and I tried to give my daughter the love that I never had while growing up as a child,” Prince cried.
Meanwhile, Justice Sandil Kissoon during the sentencing related that domestic violence continues to “rampage” society while adding that those who commit such crimes cannot look to the court for “clemency and mercy.”
He ruled that the murder was a “cold-blooded and premeditated” crime which was a “diabolical and murderous” act carried out by Prince. Prince had stabbed the victim 15 times with the brunt of the wounds being to the region of her heart.
In addition, he added that Prince’s plea was a “tactical manoeuvre” and no credit will be given to him.
After taking all the mitigating factors into consideration, Justice Kissoon sentenced Prince to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving a minimum of 30 years.