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"Antichrist" Guilty!
posted (November 1, 2012)
Today a jury of 7 women and 5 men needed only three hours to find Laverne "Antichrist" Longsworth guilty of the 2010 murder of her 32 year-old common-law husband, David White.

After the verdict was issued, 38 year old Longsworth quietly shook her head in seeming disbelief. And when she was being escorted out of court, she broke away form police and tried to physically attacked photojournalist Rowland Parks.

And so, tonight, the 38 year-old Longsworth is at prison awaiting her sentence - which is likely to be life in prison. In the month-long, highly controversial case, the prosecution, represented by Crown Counsel Shenieza Smith, summoned media personnel from both Channel 5 and Channel 7 who contributed to the recording, broadcast, and storage of 4 interviews Longsworth conducted. In those interviews, Longsworth admitted that on the night of July 15, 2010, she threw gasoline on White and lit him on fire. He died 17 days later at the KHMH from burn injuries.

And Crown Counsel Smith managed to get the court to admit those interviews into evidence, which is a precedent, since electronic evidence is very rarely used in a criminal trial.

In her defence, Longsworth gave a dock statement in which she accepted that she did wrong when she through gasoline White and lit him on fire, but she maintains that she did it in self-defence.

She also told the court that White physically abused her many times throughout their relationship. She also said that White, as part of the wrongs he did her, caused her to contract HIV from him.

She also begged the court for leniency and asked for consideration of the fact that she is the mother of 3 children and only their provider.

Justice Lucas has scheduled November 8 as the date when he will hear her mitigation plea and decide on her sentence. We note that the conviction rate for women accused of murder is inordinately high - when compared to men. In the past 18 months, there have been three women accused of killing their spouses - and all three have been convicted - two of them sentenced to life in prison. 38 year old Kim Brannon, chopped up 38 year old Anthony "Antics" Herrera while he slept and 54 year old Viola Pook set her husband on fire.

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