By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterONE OF the three men who were given stiff prison sentences after they were convicted last year of the murder of 48-year-old gas station operator Sylvia Edwards, was yesterday freed by the Court of Appeal while a retrial was ordered for the others.
Howard Lindsay, 32, craft vendor, of Allman Town, Kingston 4, was freed after the court quashed his conviction and entered a verdict of acquittal.
A retrial was ordered for Rupert Wallace, 43, businessman, of Garveymeade, Portmore, St. Catherine and Rohan Masters, 23, electrician, of 66 Luke Lane, Kingston.
The men had appealed against their convictions of life imprisonment for non-capital murder.
PAROLE
Mr. Justice David Pitter (now retired) had recommended that Lindsay should serve 25 years before being eligible for parole, Wallace should serve 45 years before parole and Masters should serve 35 years before parole.
Mrs. Edwards, who lived in Plantation Heights, St. Andrew, was kidnapped along Red Hills Road, St. Andrew, on July 31, 2000 by a group of men. A demand was made for a ransom of $200,000. When the money was not paid, Mrs. Edwards was beaten and shot several times in the head and chest.
One of the men who was detained in connection with the murder took the police to Constitution Hill, St Andrew on the night of July 31, 2000 and showed them the shallow grave where she was buried.
Mrs. Edwards and her husband operated the Esso gas station at the corner of Hagley Park Road and Waltham Park Road, Kingston 11.
NO KNOWLEDGE
Lord Anthony Gifford, Q.C., who represented Lindsay, argued on appeal that Lindsay was not part of the plan to murder Edwards, he was not present when she was murdered and had no knowledge of the crime. Lindsay had told the police that he only knew of a plan to burgle the house. Lord Gifford submitted that if the plan was to burgle the house of the deceased and people went off and "falsely imprisoned" her, then that was a different crime of which Lindsay had no knowledge.
Delano Harrison, Q.C., represented Wallace and Masters.
The Court of Appeal comprising president Ian Forte, Mr. Justice Seymour Panton and Mr. Justice Howard Cooke has promised to give its reasons for freeing Lindsay in writing at an early date.
