4 committed to stand trial for arson, murder of Laventille girl, 6

Akeido Edwards -  Photo courtesy TTPS
Akeido Edwards - Photo courtesy TTPS

FOUR men have been committed to stand trial for the murder of a six-year-old girl who burned to death when her mother’s home was set on fire in 2016.

On Friday, police said the four were charged between December 18, 2019 and June 7, 2020.

Akil Elder - Photo courtesy TTPS

They appeared before Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle on Tuesday, when they were committed to stand trial.

The four – Akil Elder, 34; Ako John, 33; Akeido Edwards, 30; and Kashaun Boyce, 27 – are charged with the murder of Parris Griffith, six, the attempted murder of her mother Akeelah Schelbourne and with arson.

Committed to stand trial: Kashaun Boyce - Photo courtesy TTPS

On the morning of August 20, 2016, the police said Schelbourne was at her home at Straker Village, Laventille, when she realised the wooden house was engulfed in flames.

She escaped through a space at the side of the front door of the house but was unable to save her daughter. Nearby residents also tried and failed to save the child, the police said.

Ako John - Photo courtesy TTPS

A release from the police said the Cold Case Unit pursued the investigation in 2018 and, as a result, the four were charged by acting Sgt Sheldon Narine, who received instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC.

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