NASSAU- The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision in the case of convicted child killer Kofhe Goodman.
Goodman, 45, was convicted of the murder of 11-year-old Marco Archer after a retrial in May 2017. He was handed a 55-year sentence in 2018.
Marco’s naked body was found in a sheet in bushes near Goodman’s apartment on Yorkshire Drive on September 28, 2011, five days after he went missing from his Brougham Street home.
The sheet had a similar pattern to the fitted sheet found on Goodman’s bed. And Marco’s clothing was found in a garbage bin outside of Goodman’s home.
Goodman filed an appeal against his conviction and subsequent sentence more than two years after the trial concluded.
As a result, Goodman had to seek permission to appeal out of time.
Last July, the Court struck out Goodman’s appeal because he didn’t ask for the necessary leave. The matter was re-listed after Goodman’s lawyer followed the rules regarding missed deadlines.
The Court heard arguments this week via videoconference due to coronavirus restrictions.
DPP Garvin Gaskin argued that Goodman should be denied leave to appeal as he had no good reason for missing the appeal deadline.
Public defender Stanley Rolle took issue with the “competence” of Goodman’s trial lawyer, noted Queen’s Counsel Wayne Munroe.
However, Gaskin said that Goodman had no complaints about his representation during the trial.
Rolle claimed that the trial judge misrepresented the evidence against Goodman during her summation.
Goodman has a history of violence against children.
He was charged with murder after 10-year-old Norris Adderley was found dead with his pants pulled down to his knees. Goodman admitted to raping the child, but blamed the murder on someone else.
The murder charge was dropped and in 1993 he was sentenced to three years in prison for unnatural carnal knowledge.
In 1996, Goodman was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he injured a 10-year-old boy he tried to rape.
He was accused of Marco’s murder shortly after his release from prison.
I am looking for information on the Supreme trial of an eight year old boy who was charged for killing his mother in Freeport. He was convicted of manslaughter. The trial was reported in the Guardian and Tribune but I cannot find anything online about it. I believe the trial occurred AFTER 1987 or early 1990’s. The child was prosecuted by Bernard Turner who is presently a Supreme Court judge.
Please help with any info you have. As this is an important criminal historical event for The Bahamas I cannot understand why nothing is on the web about this.
Thank you.