Lawyer Kamal Worrell was formally charged with the murder of the mother of his child, who has been missing for ten months.
The Bermudian attorney appeared in Magistrates’ Court this morning to face indictable charges stemming from the death of Chavelle Dillon-Burgess on an unknown date between April 10 and June 11 last year.
He was also charged with one count of wounding Ms Dillon and seven counts of assault.
The wounding charge and one of the assault charges allegedly occurred on June 1 last year in Warwick, while the remaining assault charges were alleged to have taken place on November 14, 2018 in the same parish.
The defendant was further charged with interference with his electronic monitoring device on November 10 last year.
He pleaded not guilty to that offence and opted to have the case heard in Magistrates’ Court.
The indictable offences bound for the Supreme Court for the unlawful killing, wounding and assault charges did not require a plea.
Ms Dillon-Burges, was 26-years-old when she disappeared last April, leaving behind a young son, who is now two-years-old.
She was reported missing by her mother on April 30 after she was last known to be in contact with family and friends on April 11, 2020, when she was last seen at her home on Hillview Road in Warwick.
Senior Magistrate Juan Wolffe released Mr Worrell on $50,000 bail with two sureties of $25,000 each, with orders to wear an electronic tag, visit the Hamilton Police Station four times a week, adhere to a curfew from 9pm to 6am.
He was also ordered to surrender his passport and further bailed for $1,000 for the electronic tag case, which was set down for March 29.
The indictable charges were set down for the arraignments session in April.
Meanwhile, the search for the body of Ms Dillon-Burgess continues with the $50,000 reward still in effect for anyone with information of her whereabouts.
Police Commissioner Stephen Corbishley recapped police efforts to find her since the report was made to the Bermuda Police Service (BPS) in May 2020.
“On receipt of this information the BPS commenced a search for Chavelle, the complexity and extent of which has never been seen before in Bermuda.
“The BPS concluded that Chavelle had been unlawfully killed and a murder investigation led by the BPS’ Serious Crime Unit has continued for the past 10 months,” said Mr Corbishley.
“The BPS has worked closely with the office of the Director for Public Prosecutions on this investigation. Following a review of evidence in this case Mr Kamal Worrell was charged with the murder of Chavelle and appeared in Magistrates Court this morning.”
Moving forward, the Commissioner added: “The BPS will continue to search for Chavelle’s body on behalf of her family and the public are reminded there is still a reward of $50,000 for anyone that has information in this regard.
“BPS family liaison officers have supported Chavelle’s family through the past year, a period that has been one of great suffering.
“The family are grateful for the assistance provided by the BPS and have asked that we convey their thanks to the public for their assistance as well,” he added.
“The BPS is again appealing to anyone with information to make contact with the Senior Investigating Officer DS Jason Smith on 717-0864 or email jsmith2@bps.bm. Alternatively you can contact the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline at 80-8477. All information received will be treated in the strictest of confidence.”
Finally any person who is suffering domestic abuse, in whatever form, or persons who know someone who is in this situation, can contact the BPS Vulnerable Persons Unit on 211 or Bermuda’s Centre for Domestic Abuse on 297 8278, for help and support to their situation.
