ST. THOMAS — A St. John resident has a Dec. 9 sentencing date in Superior Court after pleading guilty to murder in 2014.
Adisa Bertrand, 45, of Chocolate Hole, admitted to a judge in Superior Court he fatally stabbed Shantee Sievewright as she sat in a car parked near a Tutu Valley housing community.
The fatal stabbing and Bertrand’s arrest occurred March 7, 2014. The defendant has been in custody of the Bureau of Corrections ever since.
The plea deal was announced on Oct. 28 by the Justice Department. Justice spokesperson Corliss Smithens said terms of the agreement were negotiated as part of a closed plea deal between Assistant Attorney General Quincy McRae and Territorial Public Defender Julie Smith Todman.
Police responding to a one-car accident in Tutu Valley found the victim’s lifeless body in a Honda Accord along with a stainless steel butcher knife. Investigators said Sievewright sustained multiple stab wounds. VI Police Detective Dwight Griffith said Bertrand admitted to assaulting the woman while investigators questioned him.
A second-degree murder plea carries a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The defendant agreed to a 25 year prison term as part of the plea deal.
Editor’s note: Article was corrected to show “fatal stabbing” in line 4 in replace of “fatal shooting.”