BRAMPTON, Ont. – A Brampton, Ont., couple have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the beating death of their 15-year-old daughter three years ago.
A jury found Fedrick and Elizabeth Gayle guilty on Wednesday, after only five hours of deliberation.
Tiffany Gayle, who was Fedrick’s daughter and his wife’s stepdaughter, was found dead in a bathtub in the family’s home on June 12, 2010.
Investigators said the Grade 10 student had been beaten with a baseball bat and a barbecue tool.
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Throughout the trial, both husband and wife blamed each other for the teen’s death.
Crown attorney Brian McGuire told court that Tiffany’s parents were strict and that they were angry when the teen called her biological mother in Jamaica to complain just days before her death. The girl had moved to Canada from the Caribbean island only a year before she was killed.
Outside court Wednesday, McGuire said he hoped Tiffany could now rest in peace.
“This jury saw the evidence that she left behind at that scene. She was the only witness we couldn’t call and yet she was the most powerful witness in this case.”
But the two lawyers who separately defended the Gayles said they were disappointed with the verdict.
Stephen Bernstein, the lawyer for Fedrick Gayle, said he was “disheartened” by the fact that the jury was out for such a short time. He said his client still maintains his innocence and he will be looking at all avenues for an appeal.
Donald McLeod, the lawyer for Elizabeth Gayle, said his client had been victimized by men since childhood and was now being blamed for her stepdaughter’s death.
(680News, The Canadian Press)
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