Judge rejects pleas on age, illness; sentences taxi driver to 35 years for ex-partner’s murder

Despite telling the court that he is battling prostate cancer and other health complications, convicted murderer Allan Sim, known as “Cayenne,” was on Thursday sentenced to 35 years behind bars for the brutal killing of his former partner, Melissa Skeete.

The sentence was handed down by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court, where the judge described the case as another tragic example of intimate partner violence, a persistent problem affecting families and communities across Guyana.

In delivering his ruling, Justice Kissoon said the evidence presented during the trial painted a picture of a deliberate and calculated attack. He noted that Sim showed no genuine remorse for his actions and concluded that the murder was premeditated.

The court heard that days before Skeete’s death, Sim had threatened to kill her. Those threats were serious enough that Skeete reported them to the police before she was murdered.

Justice Kissoon said there were no mitigating factors that could reduce Sim’s culpability and stressed the need for a sentence that reflected the gravity of the offence.

As part of the sentence, Sim must serve a minimum of 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.

The conviction followed a retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal after Sim successfully challenged an earlier conviction and sentence.

In 2020, Sim had been sentenced to 60 years’ imprisonment and ordered to serve at least 40 years before parole eligibility after a jury found him guilty of murdering Skeete. However, the appellate court later overturned that conviction and directed that the matter be retried.

Skeete, 31, worked as a dispatcher at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and shared two children with Sim.

According to evidence presented before the court, on November 23, 2015, Sim picked Skeete up from work in his vehicle at around 3:00 p.m. Roughly half an hour later, she was discovered on Carmichael Street suffering from multiple stab wounds.

She was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital but died while receiving emergency treatment.

Investigators later arrested Sim, who reportedly admitted to the killing while under caution. His vehicle was subsequently located abandoned, and investigators found that the passenger seat had been altered after the crime.

Police records showed that Sim surrendered to officers at the Alberttown Police Station two days after the murder, following reports linking him to Skeete’s death.

The court heard that Skeete was stabbed at least eight times during the attack. A post-mortem examination later determined that a stab wound to the abdomen was the primary cause of death.

Justice Kissoon said the sentence was intended not only to punish the offender but also to send a strong message about the consequences of violence against women and intimate partners.