Winston DaCosta Haynes was expelled from school at 15 for drinking; he stole from his boss twice; stole from his co-workers and ended up setting fire to his former girlfriend and burning down her home.
Mr Justice Christopher Blackman yesterday jailed him for eight years for arson and five years each for inflicting serious bodily harm on Miral Proverbs and Janelle Riley. Haynes was jailed for shoplifting and cannabis in April 1984 and in July 1988 he got nine months for shoplifting.
On September 5, 2004, Haynes and Proverbs had an argument and the police were called. Haynes was advised to leave, but returned early next morning and Proverbs heard him saying: "If I can't live here, you can't live here."
She felt a liquid on her and the bed and smelled gasoline. Haynes lit a match and threw it on her, but she escaped through a window. Janelle Riley, a visitor, was in another room when the fire started, and she too suffered burns about the body before the house burnt flat. Haynes told police he intended killing Proverbs and himself.
A pre-sentencing report revealed Haynes worked as a landscaper at Apes Hill Plantation where he was re-employed after incarceration in 1999. His employer, Stephen Williams, described him as a good and knowledgeable worker when he was not on drugs.
However, Williams conceded that Haynes would steal once his back was turned and one day he returned home to find Haynes in his house. At the time Haynes pleaded with him to take him to a gully and shoot him. Another time Haynes took up the pick-up truck and transported stolen manure from the plantation.
The report revealed that Haynes and Proverbs started the relationship while in a rehab programme though they were advised against it. Both relapsed, and Haynes claimed when Proverbs resumed drinking she went missing only to return home and quarrel because there was no food.
The day he set fire to the house he had earlier been ejected and spent the time thereafter drinking a whole bottle of rum.
Proverbs's children, according to the report, conceded that she aggravated the situation and accepted a letter of apology from him.
His family said they did not know what changed Haynes from a nice person into a monster with errtic behaviour which forced them away. |