A 23-year prison sentence has been imposed on 33-year-old Tiffene Greaves for her role in the August 2022 murder of 22-year-old mother of three, Vanessa Anderson.
Greaves was convicted of murder by a jury following a trial before Justice Deborah Kumar-Chetty at the High Court in Demerara.
Greaves was charged alongside her 25-year-old sister, Jamacy Jason, over Anderson’s August 8, 2022 killing.
The court ultimately imposed a 23-year term of imprisonment on Greaves, while Jason was separately sentenced to 24 years after pleading guilty to the crime.
The prosecution’s case was presented by State Counsel Joy Williams.
The evidence established that Anderson was returning from a nearby shop when she encountered Greaves and Jason, both of Sophia, Greater Georgetown, near the bridge leading to their homes.
Greaves was found to have handed a knife to her sister, who subsequently used it to stab Anderson in the back.
Anderson of ‘B’ Field, Sophia Squatting Dam, Greater Georgetown, was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where she was pronounced dead.
A post-mortem examination subsequently confirmed that she had suffered multiple stab wounds, including injuries that penetrated her aorta and lung.
Justice Kumar-Chetty found Greaves to be a secondary participant in the joint enterprise, with the fatal wounds having been inflicted by Jason.
Greaves had no previous convictions and was noted to have had a favourable probation report. She had also completed vocational training and obtained certificates in plumbing and craft.
The court further ordered that the time Greaves spent on remand be deducted from her sentence.
The presiding judge also directed that Greaves be given access to educational and vocational training programmes during her incarceration to support her rehabilitation and eventual return to society.
The sisters were initially remanded to prison when they were arraigned before a magistrate in August 2022.
Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), they were committed to stand trial at the Demerara Criminal Assizes for the capital offence of murder.
Anderson was reportedly a neighbour of the sisters.
