The Nassau Guardian
Jury to decide murder or manslaughter in teacher killing
There is no question about who killed teacher Denise Adderley, and today a 12-member jury will determine whether the actions of her former boyfriend, John Adderley, amounted to murder or manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
Mr. Adderley killed the mother of his daughter on January 9, 2011 in the parking lot of the Texaco Service Station on Wulff Road. Mr. Adderley shot her five times at close range with a manual shotgun.
The defense, lead by attorney Murrio Ducille, did not dispute that Adderley was the killer. However, he urged the jury to find Mr. Adderley guilty of manslaughter - not murder.
By contrast, prosecutor Sandradee Gardiner said that Mr. Adderley acted deliberately and intentionally when he pumped those five shots into Ms. Adderley. She noted the evidence of the firearms expert, who said the weapon had to be cranked before each shot.
She noted that the deceased had ended her relationship with Mr. Adderley several months prior to her death. She was seeing someone else.
Gardiner said, “He decided with the end of the relationship, her life should come to an end.”
Ducille asked the jurors to rely on an assessment by psychiatrist Dr. Michael Neville that found that Mr. Adderley was not in his normal state of mind when he shot Ms. Adderley.
Neville’s diagnosis was based on an interview with the defendant eight months after the fatal shooting and an examination of the facts of the case.
He admitted during cross-examination that he did not conduct any objective tests in making his diagnosis.
In his interview with the doctor, Adderley claimed that he was depressed and could not sleep or work.
However, Gardiner pointed out that Adderley’s own friend of 15 years, John McIntosh, noticed nothing out of the ordinary about him when they spoke about a week before the killing.
Gardiner said Adderley spoke about plans to build more apartments in his conversation with McIntosh, who did not recall him mentioning the deceased or their daughter.
Justice Bernard Turner will sum up the case to the jury at noon.
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