Florida trial set for man charged with murdering Trini woman

THE trial of a man charged with murdering Trinidad and Tobago national Kiara Alleyne will begin in the US on April 24.

On September 11, 2019, 20-year-old Alleyne was found dead in her Ocala, Florida home.

The mother of one was originally from Cap-de-Ville, Point Fortin, and had migrated to the US where she took up a job as a nursing assistant.

Marion County detectives found her on the bedroom floor. There was blood on the handle of the front door, a blanket hanging out the bottom of an oven and the apartment had a “strong odour” of lighter fluid.

Her boyfriend Deangelo Clark, 32, was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder and attempted arson of a dwelling or structure. The charging officer is John Lightle.

In a document the Marion County Sheriff’s Office provided to Newsday in 2019, it said Alleyne’s father – Sheldon Alleyne – got a FaceTime call from Clark. The report said Clark had used her phone to make the call.

Clark claimed Kiara had a knife but her father said he heard her in the background screaming, “I don’t, he has the knife!” Those are believed to be Alleyne’s last words.

Her father, according to the report, told Clark to call for help but he refused as he feared his and Alleyne’s child, a one-year-old girl, would be taken away from him.

Alleyne said in the report that before Clark ended the call, he (Alleyne) was able to see his daughter lying on the floor in a pool of blood. An autopsy later confirmed she was stabbed to death.

The couple’s daughter was later found unharmed at the home of a relative.

Clark then fled to Florida Keys where he broke into a home and started a fire but was arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and taken to hospital for surgery as he had “severe injuries.”

Clark made his first appearance at the Marion County Court on October 8, 2019. He pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial.

At 8.30 am on April 10 and 24, members of the jury will be chosen.

The Marion County Clerk of Court’s website lists Clark as being represented by attorney Amanda Sizemore while attorney Katrina Self will represent the State. Robert William Hodges is the appointed judge.