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Shaniqua Kadeesha Cecilia Clarke of Helstone Lane, Gall Hill, Christ Church, has been sentenced to serve 19 years and 52 days in prison for the murder of her partner, Devitus Chase, according to reporting by Barbados Today. The crime occurred between October 18 and 21, 2022, when Clarke was 27 years old.
Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell set an initial starting point of 40 years, emphasizing the severity of the offense. The judge characterized Clarke’s actions as a calculated and deliberate killing rooted in jealousy, anger, and an inability to accept the end of the relationship. The court found that Clarke devised a plan to lure Chase to a specific location where the fatal events unfolded, and that she personally inflicted the injuries that led to his death.
The court identified Clarke as the mastermind of the killing and noted several aggravating factors: the use of a knife, the multiple stab wounds inflicted on Chase, the failure to recover the weapon, the deliberate luring of the victim under false pretenses, the dragging of the body, and attempts to conceal it. The impact on Chase’s family was also considered during sentencing.
According to the court record, Clarke and Chase had been in a relationship since 2018. After separating briefly in 2022, they reconciled, but Clarke became involved with another man without informing Chase. When Chase learned of Clarke’s involvement with someone else and told her he had met another person and that she should move forward with her life, she became enraged.
Clark told police she had invited Chase to Welches Beach, where she planned to have the other man hide in nearby bushes while she and Chase discussed their relationship. She claimed that as they sat on the sand, the other man emerged and struck Chase with a stick. In the chaos, Clarke stated she stabbed Chase with a knife he was carrying. The 40-year starting sentence was reduced to account for her guilty plea, the four years she had already spent on remand, mitigating factors, and her plea bargain agreement with the State, resulting in the final sentence of 19 years and 52 days at Dodds Prison.
Clarke and Chase had maintained an on-and-off relationship beginning in 2018. The couple separated for several months in 2022 before attempting to reconcile, though Clarke had begun a separate relationship with another man during their separation.
This case reflects ongoing challenges with intimate partner violence and femicide in the Caribbean region, where relationship disputes have tragically escalated to fatal outcomes. The sentencing highlights the judicial system’s response to such crimes in Barbados.
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