Justice Anthony Carmona yesterday cited a 2006 incident in which a son killed his father after a bout of drinking, as a serious consequence of consuming alcohol.
"This is a case of how alcohol could wreck a family...This is an example of how alcohol can destroy the love of a family," Carmona said yesterday. The judge now finds himself in a quandary, trying to determine an appropriate sentence for Stephen La Rosa, 40, who yesterday pleaded guilty to killing his father Anthony Bocas. "When a son kills his father, should he not be punished?" Carmona asked defence lawyers. "He is responsible for the death of someone he loved and someone who loved him," he said.
Carmona, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Second Court, said it was difficult for him to decide the appropriate punishment as the court was accustomed to dealing with "hardened" killers. He noted there was a distinction between crimes done by people purchasing legally intoxicating items and those bought illegally. The prosecution had earlier accepted the guilty plea to the lesser count of manslaughter, under the mitigating defence of diminished responsibility. This, after analyses from psychiatric consultants Professor Gerard Hutchinson and Dr Hazel Orthello determined that the persistent drinking on the day of the killing, caused an abnormality in La Rosa's mind.
It was also opined that the drinking caused La Rosa to "black out," and not remember the events on the day he stabbed his father to death. On December 14, 2006, La Rosa, his father and brothers Anthony, Anselm and Marcus drank five bottles of White Oak rum while liming at their home in La Plaisance Road, East Dry River, Port-of-Spain. Shortly before 1 am, the following morning, Anselm walked into a bedroom and saw Stephen twisting a knife into his father's neck. Hours later, Bocas, 72, was found lying dead in a drain outside his home. An autopsy showed he died from an incised wound to his neck as well as multiple stab wounds.
He also bore wounds to his left hand and forearm. Defence attorneys Llewelyn Thompson and Frank Peterson asked that a lenient sentence be imposed on La Rosa, who has already spent six prison years since he was arrested. He will return for sentencing after lawyers for both sides present further guidance on sentencing to the judge. Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo appeared for the State.
