Marcus GibbingsA 49-year-old woman and her brother, who is 52 are today facing life imprisonment for a murder committed 14 years ago in 2006.
Katrina Burgess and Cleveland Rogers both denied committing the premeditated murder of Marcus Gibbings, who was found dead in his Devonshire apartment on October 26 that year.
Their Supreme Court trial that lasted for several weeks, ended on Wednesday (March 4) with a unanimous verdict by the jury.
Acting Puisne Judge Craig Attridge remanded Rogers and Burgess in custody for sentencing at a later date and ordered social inquiry reports on both of them in the interim.
After the verdict came in, Detective Inspector Arthur Glasford said the jury’s unanimous ruling would give Mr Gibbings’s family some belated closure.
“A team of investigators from the Serious Crime Unit have worked tirelessly on this case,” he said.
“Members of our society should take note that the police and criminal justice system are here to help and we will always work to obtain justice, as was done in this case.
“In a small community it can sometimes be challenging to get enough evidence and put such cases such as this before the court.
“While I will not comment on the specifics of this case, we take comfort in the fact the criminal justice system has worked for someone whose life was taken from him,” he added.
The Crown alleged that Burgess, the former girlfriend of the victim, had paid Rogers $5,000 to kill him after the victim cheated on her and ended their relationship.
Mr Gibbings, 32, was found in a pool of blood in his Derwent Lane, apartment in Devonshire. He was stabbed to death.
The autopsy revealed multiple stab wounds including one which struck his heart, his face and two stab wounds to his chest.
Lawyer Marc Daniels appeared for Rogers and lawyer Charles Richardson appeared for Burgess.
