In a high-profile criminal trial concluded in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, 45-year-old Kareem Simon, a Greenbay resident, has been convicted of the murder of 66-year-old Dennis Edwards of Bolans. The guilty verdict stems from a fatal public confrontation that took place on Lower All Saints Road last August 2023.
Simon’s legal defense centered entirely on his assertion that he acted out of self-defense when he stabbed Edwards to death on August 21. The defendant told investigators that Edwards had initiated the assault, forcing him to respond with lethal force to protect his own safety. A police constable from the island’s Serious Crimes Unit testified to this self-reported account during the trial proceedings.
But physical evidence, particularly surveillance video reviewed by the jury, directly contradicted Simon’s version of events. Local legal reporting outlet Wadadli Case Files confirms that the footage was a decisive factor in helping the jury map out the exact sequence of the encounter.
The recording captured the full lead-up and escalation of the conflict: Edwards stood on outdoor steps near the local Courts Furnishings location, with Simon seated a short distance away, before the pair exchanged a heated argument laced with profanity. At the time Simon first attacked, Edwards was holding a food container in his left hand and a mobile phone in his right. Simon’s first strike knocked both items out of Edwards’ hands. While the footage does show Edwards placing a hand toward Simon’s face in response, it clearly documents that Simon was the one who initiated the physical altercation and continued to press the attack once it began.
Court records also note that the two men had no prior personal interaction before the incident, despite Simon acknowledging that he frequently saw Edwards during his regular visits to St. John’s. Edwards ultimately suffered multiple fatal stab wounds to his upper body during the violent encounter.
After deliberating on the evidence presented, the jury unanimously rejected Simon’s self-defense argument and returned a guilty verdict for the charge of murder. Simon is scheduled to receive his official sentence on November 19 during a hearing presided over by Justice John Spencer, who oversaw the full trial.