He pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing a maid with a samurai sword but last week 18 year old Robert Gillett told a judge he didn’t do it. And that’s why today Justice Adolph Lucas rejected Gillett’s guilty plea. But he wasn’t free to go home because he will now stand trial for murder.
Gillett along with his brother 17 year old John Chessman were charged for the June 10th 2005 murder of Lord’s Bank maid Mara Naomi Garcia. She was raped, tied up, and executed. While Gillett opted to plea guilty to manslaughter, Chessman didn’t and it paid off. His lawyer Simeon Sampson argued that his confession was coerced. A judge agreed and threw out the case.
But Gillett didn’t risk a trial. He pled guilty and now that the plea has been rejected, he will be re-indicted for murder. Senior Crown Counsel Cecil Ramirez urged Justice Lucas to accept the plea. Gillett’s attorney Anthony Sylvestre argued against him because Gillett told him what he told Justice Lucas. That is that when they entered the house – he didn’t know it would have ended in murder.
Robert Gillett is back in jail and remains on remand until he is re-indicted.
