Two family members of the Collins man who beat his grandfather, Murrington Alston John, 94, to death during a psychotic episode in 2020 have painted contrasting pictures of him.
High Court judge Justice Rickie Burnett has jailed the man, Jareth Jamala John, 25, for 20 years for his crime, which was committed at the home of the extended family on March 15, 2020.
During the sentencing hearing in Kingstown, the judge read from a social inquiry report prepared by a social worker at the Ministry of Mobilisation on April 7, 2025.
In the report, the defendant’s mother, Ivy John — who is also the daughter of the deceased — and a brother of the defendant, whose name the court did not mention, gave contrasting accounts of the defendant.
The report said that the defendant grew up with his maternal siblings and relatives.
When he was about 16, the defendant went to Trinidad to stay with his father because of a disagreement between the defendant and his brother.
During the arguments, the defendant destroyed furniture and a stereo set as he was upset.
His mother said the defendant had a normal childhood but she found out that he started to smoke marijuana in Form 3.
She saw his behaviour change because of his marijuana addiction and he eventually dropped out of a one-year college programme.
The mother said the defendant and his grandfather would sit together and joke among themselves.
On one occasion, she visited him in prison not too long after the incident. The first person the defendant asked for was his grandfather.
The mother described the defendant as most loving, saying he would clean and cook and was her “hand and foot”.
Brother paints telling picture
However, in the report, the defendant’s brother painted a telling picture of him.
The brother said the defendant respected no one on the property and alleged that there were numerous incidents before the death of their grandfather where the defendant exhibited behaviour that had members of the household living in fear.
The brother suggested that issues with the defendant could have been addressed on several occasions.
On several occasions, he spoke to his mother to get the defendant evaluated but she refused.
The court noted that the mother had mental health challenges even before the defendant was born.
He obtained 5 CXC at Thomas Saunders Secondary School. His teachers described him as being of abnormal mood and behaviour at times, but he was very helpful and respectful to authority.
The prison service said he was mostly well-behaved and got along with the inmates and authorities.
However, there was an incident in which an inmate allegedly told him about his crime and the defendant got angry and got into an altercation with that inmate, for which he was reprimanded.
The community described him as a “nice guy”, “mannerly” and ”very respectful” but said he got caught up with smoking.
In the victim impact statement, the defendant’s mother spoke of the relationship between the defendant and the deceased as a good one.
She said he used to accompany his grandfather to town. She said the killing has caused her to mourn for two people: the deceased and the defendant.
She said the defendant was not in his right mind when he committed the act.
Defendant vows never to stop smoking marijuana
At the sentencing, the judge said that the defendant had vowed he would 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, who had also tried cocaine, told the psychiatrist who evaluated him most recently that he wished he had more marijuana to smoke, saying that the plant keeps him calm.
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 crime
The facts, presented by Justice Burnett, 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.
They met the defendant, arrested him and took him to the Mesopotamia Police Station but 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 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.
An autopsy concluded that he died of blunt force trauma to the head.
The defendant was initially charged with murder, but the prosecution accepted a guilty plea for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
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.