Pair guilty of murdering Gibbings

Victim: Marcus Gibbings (File photograph)



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A pair of half-siblings accused of the 2006 murder of a man were found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict yesterday.

Katrina Burgess, 49, and Cleveland Rogers, 52 had denied the premeditated murder of Marcus Gibbings, who was found dead in a Devonshire apartment on October 26 that year.

Acting Puisne Judge Craig Attridge remanded Rogers and Burgess in custody for sentence at a later date and ordered social inquiry reports on them both.

Detective Inspector Arthur Glasford said after the verdict was announced that the decision would give Mr Gibbingss family some belated closure.

He added: A team of investigators from the Serious Crime Unit have worked tirelessly on this case.

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.

Mr Glasford added: 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.

Prosecutors alleged that Burgess, the former girlfriend of Mr Gibbings, had paid Rogers $5,000 to commit the murder after the victim cheated on her and ended their relationship.

The verdict came after more than five hours of deliberation and the defendants remained silent as the verdict was delivered.

Mr Gibbings, 32, was found in a pool of blood in a Derwent Lane, Devonshire apartment.

The court heard he had shared the apartment with Burgess until weeks before the murder, but was in the process of moving out.

An autopsy revealed he had suffered multiple stab wounds including one to his face and two to his chest, one of which struck his heart.

The court heard evidence from two witnesses  both former girlfriends of Rogers  who alleged that he confessed to the murder.

Neither can be named for legal reasons.

The first witness, who was in a relationship with Rogers in 2006, said Rogers admitted that he had waited behind a couch and ambushed Mr Gibbings, who was lured to the apartment by Burgess.

The second witness said Rogers mentioned in a conversation that he had killed someone who had stalked Burgess.

Neither told police about the confessions until 2018, at which time Rogers was behind bars for an unrelated conviction for having unlawful carnal knowledge of a 13-year-old girl.

Marc Daniels, who appeared for Rogers, said the two witnesses admitted they had spoken to each other before they told police about the confessions and that both had an axe to grind with his client.

Charles Richardson, for Burgess, said the jury could not consider the evidence of the witnesses against his client as it would be hearsay, and that there was no other evidence to link his client to the crime.

Both defence lawyers also raised the possibility of another potential suspect  the husband of a woman Mr Gibbings had started an affair with.

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