September 2002 Table of Contents

MURDER IN SANDY POINT

A two day search for Canadian Marcia Rose McKenzie, 35, ended when her mutilated body was found savagely hacked in a shallow depression near the only road into Sandy Point.

Ms McKenzie, a laboratory technician, had arrived in Sandy Point on the morning of Friday 16th August with her boyfriend, Harry Hanna of Nassau, to attend the wedding of her boyfriend’s brother to a Sandy Point girl. Ms McKenzie and Mr Hanna stayed in separate houses in Sandy Point in the same family lot, one with David Green (uncle of the bride) and his family, the other with Mr Green’s son Alvin and his family. Ms McKenzie had been associated with Harry Hanna for several months and had previously visited The Bahamas three times earlier this year to be with him.

That Friday evening the couple went to a local bar and towards the end of the evening there was an altercation between Hanna and Ms McKenzie during which she accused him of drinking too much and there was an argument between the two. According to reports she "stormed out of the club".

When Mr Hanna went to check on her next morning he was told that Ms McKenzie had gone for a walk at about 8 am. Later in the day there was some concern when Ms McKenzie did not turn up for the wedding or reception, leaving behind her passport, money and jewellery. A search was instigated.

On Monday 19th August the Island Administrator for South Abaco, Benjamin Pinder, was with police officers when Ms McKenzie’s body was found in a shallow pit. She had received slashes about her head and upper body and her hands had been almost severed from her arms. There was also evidence that she had been sexually assaulted.

When boyfriend Harry Hanna was told of the discovery he suffered such shock that he had to be placed under medical supervision at the Sandy Point Clinic.

Teams of CID investigators from Nassau were sent to Sandy Point to assist with the search for the murderer. On Wednesday 21st August they arrested a seventeen year old youth who was found hiding out at the residence of a friend. Nearby, police found bloodstained clothes and a bloodstained machete (cutlass). It was acknowledged by the police that the people of Sandy Point cooperated completely with them and gave them the leads they needed to make an arrest.

The youth was arraigned at the Marsh Harbour magistrate’s court on Friday 23rd August. He arrived shortly after midday with his face and upper body covered by a blue coat but showing that he was wearing blue jeans. There were several hundred people on hand at the courtroom environs and there was no sign of anger, just curiosity. The accused was well known in the area because he had attended a local high school.

Silbert Mills of Radio Abaco was on hand to report on the proceedings. The press was not allowed into the courtroom, a common procedure when minors are accused of serious crime, but was able to report live over the radio by looking through the courtroom window which has smoked glass.

Mr Mills reported that the accused youth never turned his head from left to right, nor nodded or shook his head. His mother sat between two sisters as the arraignment went forward, presided over by Magistrate Crawford McKee. Prosecuting was Royal Bahamas Police Force Inspector Adderley and it appeared that the accused was being defended by lawyer Cara Butler, daughter of the former High Commissioner to Canada, Sir Arlington Butler.

Also on hand, because it was a juvenile offence, was a juvenile panel consisting of a local minister of religion, a senior educator and a member from the Department of Social Services.

The accused cannot be named or photographed because he is a minor. Most people who knew him placed him at 5’ 8" in height and about 160 lbs, heavier than his putative victim.

Five minutes after the accused had entered the courtroom the police brought another young man, not a juvenile, into the courtroom. Rumours had been rife that somebody would be charged with aiding and abetting the accused but it turned out that the second person was there on a drugs charge and the magistrate apparently ordered that his arraignment would be held at another time.

Several policemen at the arraignment were armed but there was no disturbance. At an arraignment the accused is charged but is not required to enter a plea. There will be a hearing on 17th October.

September 2002 Table of Contents