A jury sitting in the No. 2A Supreme Court of Barbados, presided over by Justice Elwood Watts, has returned a nine-to-three majority verdict finding Royale Achim Juwan Trotman guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, in connection with the 2021 death of Phyllis Edghill. Trotman, a resident of Gall Hill, St John, had entered a formal not guilty plea to the original charge of murdering Edghill during the period spanning November 28, 2021, to December 1, 2021. Following more than two hours of closed-door deliberation, the panel of jurors reached the compromised majority ruling that avoided a full murder conviction. Legal representation for Trotman was provided by defense attorney Lalu Hanuman, while the prosecution team was led by Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis, who presented the state’s full case against the defendant over the course of the trial. Justice Watts formally issued a court order mandating the compilation of a comprehensive pre-sentence assessment report, which will evaluate contextual factors related to the defendant’s background, circumstances of the offense, and relevant mitigating considerations. The court has scheduled the formal hearing for all sentencing submissions, including arguments from both the defense and prosecution, to take place on March 8, at which point a final penalty will be handed down by the presiding judge.