Ex-prison warder gets life sentence for stabbing wife to death
Updated: May 27, 2022
Former Prison Warder, Sheldon Prince, who stabbed his wife to death on December 28, 2016, was today handed a life sentence for the crime.
The sentence was handed down by Berbice High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon and ordered that he only becomes eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
Earlier this month, Prince, 35, formerly of Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice pleaded guilty to the heinous crime, admitting that on the day in question, he murdered his wife, Lonette Nicholson- Prince, 22.
Nicholson-Prince, who was a hairdresser at the Psychiatric Hospital, had just arrived at work when Prince, a prison officer at the Mazaruni Prison, attacked her with a knife.
The woman died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to several stab wounds. Prince and his now-dead wife have a nine-year-old daughter together.
Prince was represented by Senior Counsel Murseline Bacchus while State Counsel Abigail Gibbs appeared for the prosecution.
A tearful Prince begged the court for mercy, noting that his relationship with his wife was once filled with love.
He said that his wife lived a “promiscuous” lifestyle and was unfaithful to him while he was away at work.
Moreover, he added that killing his wife was not a deliberate act, but rather, one that was provoked by her constant infidelity.
To this end, Justice Kissoon noted that the woman’s killing was “cold-blooded and premeditated,” while noting that she was stabbed some 15 times.
Recognising the increase in murders stemming from intimate partner violence, the Judge noted that the court needs to send a strong message to like-minded persons that such behaviours will not be tolerated.
