The husband of murdered journalist Marcia Henville yesterday was sent to the St Ann’s Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation by a magistrate after his attorney, Fareed Ali, argued he was concerned about his mental health. Sheldon Henville, 39, of Fidelis Heights, Santa Margarita, St Augustine, was also charged with maliciously setting fire to their apartment while his wife and children—Chioke and Nikeiya—were inside. Henville appeared before Tunapuna Senior Magistrate Gillian David-Scotland, who was asked by Ali to send Henville for evaluation.
Ali argued his client, who spent 38 days in custody, was not “in the best condition” after being housed at the hospital and the deplorable conditions at the Maloney Police Station. Ali said as a result of the conditions he was worried his client was not able to properly instruct him. David-Scotland ordered that Henville re-appear in court on March 16, after he is evaluated to ensure he is mentally competent to be prosecuted for murder.
Before being taken to St Ann’s the magistrate ordered that Henville be taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he has to receive treatment for an injury he sustained during the blaze that damaged their home. Speaking with the media after the court matter, Ali sought to dispel rumours his modus operandi was to get his clients sent to St Ann’s in a bid to prevent the inevitability of them being sent on remand.
“I am deferring simply to have someone’s medical health evaluated. This is not any stalling tactic. I am about due process of law and ensuring justice is done,” Ali said. Henville, 51, the host of TV6's Point Blank talk/reality show, was beaten, stabbed and her throat slit before her body was set ablaze at her home on January 23. It was initially believed she had been killed in the fire before the autopsy revealed she had been murdered.