It was chaos in the courtroom of Justice Sandi Kissoon at the Georgetown High Court on Friday when Linden resident, Gavin Graham was sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment; he was found guilty of murdering his ex-lover Tabola Abrams, her new lover Shawn Whyte and her stepfather Clifford Sampson, by setting their Sophia, Georgetown home on fire on January 2, 2015.
The Judge ordered that Graham serve three life sentences with the possibility of parole after serving 30 years on each count for the “brutal, criminal and heinous acts.”
Graham, while he was being handcuffed, threw a bottle of yellowish liquid at the prosecutor; this also affected persons who were seated behind the prosecutor’s desk.
He then began behaving in a disorderly manner and threatened the families who were seated in court. Persons seated inside rushed out of the courtroom while officers managed to restrain Graham.
However, Graham’s mother picked up the plastic bottle which still had some liquid inside and went after the prosecutor, where she tried to throw the contents on the prosecutor again. She was arrested by the police.
The prosecutor, Tiffani Lyken, had asked the judge to consider the nature of the offence in which three persons lost their lives.
She also stressed that it was a pre-meditated act by Graham, who locked the door, set fire to the home of the victims and left them to die.
Lyken told the court that the case stemmed from domestic violence since Graham and Abrams had once shared a relationship. During that relationship he often abused Abrams.
On the day in question, Graham went to Abram’s home and pleaded with her to take him back; when she refused, he planned to get even.
Abrams’ sister, Candacey Buelow, gave a statement in court and broke down in tears as she explained that her sister was never happy with Graham.
” I feel relieved knowing that justice has been served to my family,” Buelow said.
With no sign of remorse, Graham stood in the prisoner docks and listened as Justice Kissoon delivered the sentence.
According to reports, on the day in question, Graham set Abrams’ Sophia home on fire and made good his escape. Sampson and Whyte were trapped in the home and was burnt alive, while Abrams died at the Georgetown Public Hospital while receiving treatment.
Graham, who was reportedly seen by neighbours at the scene, was later arrested with minor burns about his arms and other parts of his body.
