Man pleads guilty to 2019 school stabbing death of prefect Temario Holder

A now-22-year-old has pleaded guilty to non-capital murder for fatally stabbing a fellow student at a Barbados secondary school in 2019. He has been remanded to Dodds Prison pending sentencing.

Guilty plea entered in fatal 2019 school stabbing, sentencing adjourned to January 2027

A 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty to non-capital murder for fatally stabbing a fellow student when he was 15 years old, Barbados Today reports. He was remanded to Dodds Prison pending sentencing after the case was heard in the No. 4 Supreme Court.

The court heard that 16-year-old Temario Holder died on November 8, 2019, from a cardiac injury caused by multiple stab wounds to the chest. A post-mortem examination found at least 12 incised wounds on the victim's body.

Dispute over dice and $20 preceded the attack

The sequence of events began earlier that morning. Holder, a school prefect, encountered the then-15-year-old and two other students gambling in a bathroom after morning prayers. He confiscated dice and $20 from the younger student, who then directed the other two to recover the money.

Those two students approached one of Holder's friends, who returned the cash — but a teacher then intercepted it and told the students the money could only be collected directly from her. The dispute escalated through the morning.

At around 1 p.m., a teacher in an Upper Fifth-form class heard a loud argument in the corridor. She went to the stairwell and found the 15-year-old — who had skipped her class — charging at Holder with a long silver-bladed knife, making stabbing motions while other students attempted to step in.

In her written statement, the teacher described the assault: "The stabbing motions were extremely forceful and vicious, which caused me to freeze in position because I was in disbelief that 'X' was capable of this type of behaviour, since from my little contact with him this term he was generally very quiet and said very little when present in class."

Realising it was "life and death" and that she could no longer intervene safely, she left to alert the principal.

Witnesses describe Holder trying to escape

A friend of Holder who was present at the scene told the court he had physically tried to stop the attack. "I quickly ran down the stairs to the ground floor and held the student by his hand and stopped him from stabbing at Temario and told him to 'stop, stop' and that he would get send home," the witness said. "The student who was fighting with Temario said: 'I ain't care about that,' and he pushed me away."

According to the witness, Holder attempted to flee but fell twice. On both occasions, the 15-year-old stabbed him again before a third student managed to intervene. An ambulance was called, but paramedics found no signs of life when they arrived.

The incident began on the school's ground floor and ended in a first-floor corridor. A police constable who happened to be on the premises dealing with an unrelated matter observed the 15-year-old fleeing with a knife and subdued him. The suspect was arrested and taken to Holetown Police Station.

Suspect declined to answer all 70 interview questions

An electronic interview was conducted at the station in the presence of attorney Shamar Bovell, along with the suspect's mother and grandmother. He was asked 70 questions and responded to each with the same words: "I don't have to answer or respond."

State rejects lesser charge; defence accepts facts

Acting Senior State Counsel Paul Prescod told the court the prosecution could not accept a plea to a lesser offence. He said the evidence showed Holder had made repeated attempts to escape and was pursued on each occasion.

Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens, appearing for the defence, accepted the facts as presented.

The State requested the convicted man — who has no prior criminal record — be remanded pending the preparation of a sentencing report. Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell ordered a probation report and remanded him to Dodds Prison. The matter was adjourned until January 25, 2027.

Source: Barbados Today