Special to the NNPA from the New York Carib News
HAMILTON, Bermuda,CMC – A teenager who was just 15 at the time — and said to be the island’s youngest ever convicted murderer — has been jailed indefinitely by a Supreme Court judge for stabbing his 18-year-old friend to death.
Rashaun Codrington, now 17, has been imprisoned “at the court’s pleasure” for the murder of Malcolm Outerbridge. Codrington must spend a minimum of seven years in jail before he is eligible to request parole.
Described by prosecutor Carrington Mahoney as “the youngest convicted murderer in the history of Bermuda”, Codrington was 15 and legally a child when he stabbed Outerbridge to death on October 28, 2011.
Following the attack on the old railway trail near his home, Codrington dragged his dying victim into nearby bushes. The court heard that an unknown person helped him try to conceal the crime.
“Malcolm Outerbridge was an exceptional young man, and a friend of yours,” Puisne Judge Stephen Hellman told him before sentencing. “You murdered Malcolm Outerbridge, and here you are — what a wicked, stupid and senseless act.”
Noting the “ferocity of the assault”, Justice Hellman said the victim had been stabbed 27 times, three of which were mortal injuries.
From the dock, Codrington rose to address the Outerbridge family, saying he was sorry for the pain he had caused them.
“If I could change what happened that day, I would,” he added, prompting the victim’s father to rise and demand why he had murdered his son.
There was no reply.