Prince Yahweh Henry was on Wednesday convicted of manslaughter for the death of his infant son, but Henry says the devil killed the baby.
Henry, also known as Shabba and Nkozi, of Parrays Village, was in November 2014 charged with murder in the death of the child after he took the baby from the home up to the Bayfords Hill one night and returned without it.
The child, one of a pair of twins, was just two weeks old. The mother of the twins reported the incident to the Stapleton police station the morning after and a search was launched for Henry.
According to testimony from officers involved in the investigation, when police found Henry, he said the child had a demon in it and he took it on top of the mountain where he wrestled with the demon. He reportedly said the devil wanted a soul and he had to give it one.
Henry led police to an area where they saw remains on the ground including limbs, intestines and part of the scalp of a baby. Another officer said at the time Henry said a devil had burst out of the baby and ate it up.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Valery Alexandrov performed a post mortem on the remains, which included several internal organs and determined the child died from hypothermia and dehydration. He said examination of the heart showed no abnormalities. He also testified that there were bite marks on the bones, but that they were most likely caused by dogs.
It came out during trial that when Henry was arrested, he had a wild look in his eyes, was talking loudly and behaving strangely. He was taken to the hospital where he was seen by a psychiatrist and given an injection.
The following day Officers videotaped an interview with Henry who said the baby was experiencing breathing problems and he took it to the hills to get fresh air. He said he dipped the baby in dirt and water and then a devil burst out of the infant and the child was killed during his confrontation with the devil. That video and pictures from the scene of the discovery of the remains were entered into evidence.
The prosecution, led by Crown Counsel Teshaun Vasquez told the jury that Henry was guilty of gross negligent manslaughter as his actions caused the death of the child.
Henry was initially unrepresented when the trial began however attorney Natasha Grey was assigned to defend him. She argued that the crown offered no evidence that proved Henry had killed the baby. She said the prosecution’s case had too many gaps therefore the jury could not be sure beyond a reasonable doubt of Henry’s guilt. The Defense called no witnesses and Henry did not take the stand.
Trial Justice Justice Patrick Thompson Jr. summed up the case for the jury Wednesday morning (Feb 5). It took the mostly male jury just a couple hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict. Henry was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison to await sentencing.