Man gets 20 years for killing his grandpa, 94

The then 20-year-old man who clobbered his 94-year-old grandfather to death during a psychotic episode at their family home in Collins five years ago has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Jareth Jamala John, now 25, has vowed he will never stop smoking marijuana, although multiple assessments have concluded that his mental health problems were triggered by abuse of the plant, which he began using at age 13.

John told the psychiatrist who evaluated him most recently that he wished he had more marijuana to smoke, saying that the plant keeps him calm, Justice Rickie Burnett disclosed during the sentencing hearing at the High Court in Kingstown, on Thursday.

The mental health reports show that John poses a risk of further danger to others if he does not continue treatment for his psychiatric issues.

John will spend a further seven years, nine months and nine days in prison as the court granted him the maximum one-third discount — amounting to six years and eight months — on his sentence, in light of his guilty plea.

The time he spent on remand — five years, six months and 22 days — was also subtracted from the sentence.

John was initially charged with murder in connection with the killing of Murrington Alston John, at Collins on March 15, 2020.

Another charge was that on the same date, also at Collins, he assaulted his uncle, a 69-year-old retired agricultural officer, by boxing him on his left eye with his hands, causing actual bodily harm (ABH).

When he was first arrested, John was also charged with ABH for allegedly beating his mother, Ivy John, then a 62-year-old retired health officer, also of Collins, by beating her about the body with his hands, causing actual bodily harm.

However, that charge was not put to him at the High Court in March 2023, when he pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in relation to the death of his grandfather, as well as the charge that he assaulted his uncle.

The defendant did not have a lawyer at the time and the court later appointed Counsel Kay Bacchus-Baptiste to represent him.

Then, on Feb. 27, 2025, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

The Crown accepted the plea and withdrew the ABH charge.

John arrested, released to uncle, kills grandfather

The facts, presented by Justice Burnett on Thursday, are that on March 15, 2020, about 7 p.m., officers from the Mesopotamia Police Station responded to a report of a man shaking the gate of St. Joseph’s Convent, Marriaqua.

The officers who responded met the defendant, arrested him and took him to the Mesopotamia Police Station.

They later released him into the care of his uncle, Ainsley John, who took him to the extended family home in Collins.

After eating dinner that night, the defendant retired to his room on the upper floor of the two-storey house, and a short time later, loud banging was heard in that area.

The defendant’s mother went to check on him and he exited the room, cursed loudly and struck his mother in the face.

She fled to Ainsley John’s room and cried for help.
However, the defendant caught up with his mother and beat her about the body.

Ainsley John intervened and managed to restrain the defendant after a struggle.

The defendant apologised multiple times, hugged and kissed his uncle, then went back to his room.

Ainsley John advised his sister (the defendant’s mother) to lock herself in her room and went to seek police assistance.

Shortly after, Ivy John heard her elderly father, Murrington Alston John, cry out, “Oh God! Somebody help me!”

She stayed in her room with the door locked and called the police, saying that her son was killing her father.

The police later arrived with Ainsley John and found Murrington Alston John dead in a pool of blood in the corridor.

A post mortem concluded that he died of blunt force trauma to the head.

(See below a March 18, 2020, video of John outside the Serious Offences Court in Kingstown during his first court appearance after the killing)

Defendant had tried cocaine

The defendant was arrested and Dr. Karen Providence assessed him as fit to participate in an electronic interview with the police.

During that interview, the defendant admitted to the killing.

Providence produced a report on March 16, 2020, saying that the defendant had no prior contact with the mental health services.

She, however, said that two years prior, he was behaving violently and had been referred to the Mental Health Rehabilitation Centre, but this was not done.

The report said the defendant had been smoking marijuana regularly from the age of 13 and had tried cocaine and used alcohol occasionally.

He was exhibiting symptoms of psychosis at the time of the examination.

A report by a psychiatrist on Feb. 22, 2023, said the defendant was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and cannabis use disorder.

In that report, he was held to be mentally stable and fit to plead.

Then, a psychological report in July 2024 reported that the defendant had a high risk for future violence, a high risk of future harm, and a moderate risk for imminent violence.

Dr. Julius Gilliard, a psychiatrist, later diagnosed the defendant as having schizophrenia, cannabis use disorder, and a possible neurodevelopmental disorder.

In his report, Gilliard said the defendant had said he started using marijuana when he was 13 and used it daily until he was incarcerated.

The defendant told the psychiatrist that marijuana calms him down and he wished he had more to smoke.

He told the psychiatrist that he had no intention to stop using marijuana.

A report by a different psychiatrist on July 18, 2025, diagnosed John as having paranoid schizophrenia and having a high risk of recidivism without proper medical and psychiatric care.

That psychiatrist said ongoing psychiatric treatment should be maintained as part of any sentence.

Sentence to ‘to help the defendant and to save him from himself’

In arriving at his sentence, Justice Burnett noted that the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has no sentencing guidelines for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

He said his sentence was informed by the UK sentencing guidelines and decided cases from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.  

Justice Burnette said that he considered the seriousness of the offence and the need to be proportionate; the degree of the defendant’s culpability; the harm caused and prospect of his reform.

The judge noted that after the most recent evaluation, the doctor said John was at high risk of recidivism without proper medical care.

The psychiatrist also said if the court was going to schedule an early release in the future, John should first be evaluated by a designated mental health practitioner.

That evaluation should include a thorough screening of his mother’s mental health status should be returned to his home.

John’s mother had been diagnosed with a mental illness even before he was born.

The report further said ongoing psychiatric treatment should be maintained as part of any sentencing to ensure stability and appropriate mental health management.

The judge said that based on the medical report and by John’s own admission, the court believes that the defendant had no intention to quit smoking marijuana now or in the future.

“To the extent that it might be possible, I propose to impose a sentence to help the defendant and to save him from himself.”

He said the court has a duty to protect society at large, including John’s family.

The judge also examined the aggravating and mitigating features of the case.

“Having accessed the totality of the evidence, reviewed similar cases, the court considers that a sentence of 20 years is appropriate as a starting point.”

Justice Burnett said this reflects the need for retribution for the loss of the life of a very senior citizen, “who was enjoying his life beyond three score and 10.

“The court intends for this to have a deterrent effect against any future violence.”

The judge said the preventive effect is to imprison John, who, from all indications, may still pose a risk if left untreated and has a desire to continue the consumption of marijuana upon being released.

He said that with regard to rehabilitation, the intention is for him to continue to receive the much-needed treatment so when he is released, he should be a better person to resume normal life in his community.  

Justice Burnett said that while in prison, John is to maintain his psychiatric treatment to ensure his stability and proper mental health management.

He is to be enrolled in a drug rehabilitation programme and he is to be subjected to psychotherapy that focuses on emotion regulation and impulse control, to the extent possible at the prison.

Renee Simmons represented the Crown at Thursday’s sentencing hearing.

After the sentencing, John asked the court if he could go home after he completes his sentencing, and the judge told him yes.