Murder convictions are rare in the Supreme Court - most times witnesses recant their sworn statements, fail to appear, and in a few disturbing cases, are killed before they can testify.
And that's just what happened to Shelmadine "Shelly" Sanchez who was killed in August of 2010 - she was the main witness in a murder trial, and, police believe, that is why she was killed.
But her eyewitness evidence lived on in the Supreme Court yesterday and it led to the conviction of 22 year-old Emerson Eagan for murder.
It happened in the court room of Justice Adolph Lucas where a jury of 12 found Eagan guilty of the 2009 killing of 35 year-old Dennis "Colored" Nembhard.
In the trial which started last week, Crown Counsel Chrisophe Rodriguez got Shelmadine Sanchez's written statement admitted into evidence.
In her statement, she told police that on June 1, 2009 sometime after 7 p.m., she was walking home on Oleander St. with Nembhard and 2 other companions.
She said that Nembhard walked in front into a nearby yard, and that's when she saw Eagan, who was unmasked. According to Sanchez, she saw Eagan pull out a gun and shoot Nembhard from behind.
When Eagan saw Nembhard go down, he then fled into a nearby yard and escaped.
Sanchez said that she then ran to the police station and reported what she saw.
In his defense, Eagan took the stand and gave a sworn testimony that at the time of the murder, he was playing basketball near the Mahogany Police Station.
The jury didn't believe him, and after 2 and a half hours of deliberation, they found him guilty.
Justice Lucas has given him until tomorrow to prepare a mitigation plea, after which he will be given his sentence.
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