St Thomas farmer freed of killing his friend during bar fight

St Thomas farmer Damion McKoy, who was charged with the stabbing death of his friend during a fight at a bar, was on Thursday acquitted in the circuit court.

The judge upheld submissions from his attorneys, Peter Champagnie, K.C., and Richard Lynch, that he acted in self-defence.

The court heard that McKoy and his friend, Jamoy Sterling, were at a bar when Sterling allegedly verbally assaulted two female bartenders.

McKoy reportedly expressed his disapproval of Sterling’s behaviour, leading to an argument that escalated into a physical altercation.

During the fight, McKoy stabbed Sterling in the heart with a knife.

At that trial, Sterling’s mother testified that she witnessed the incident and saw McKoy stab her son.

However, under cross-examination, it was revealed that at the time of the stabbing, Sterling was armed with a machete and was attempting to strike McKoy in the neck.

Based on this evidence, Champagnie and Lynch argued that the case should not be put before the seven-member jury for a final decision, as the evidence strongly supported self-defence.

They further contended that none of the prosecution’s witnesses refuted this defence.

Additionally, the defence submitted that self-defence remained a complete defence to a murder charge, even if the accused was initially the aggressor in the argument leading up to the killing.

Following the submissions, the judge ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

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