A High Court judge has ordered the immediate release of a woman from a rehabilitation center, who had been convicted in 2019 of murdering her one-year-old daughter whom she had set on fire.
Justice Neil Brathwaite in ordering the release of Philippa Phoebe Marshall, said that while “I am satisfied that the continued incarceration is not necessary,” she must nonetheless continue with her treatment “in order for you to continue to do well for yourself and for your family”.
On July 17, 2019, a jury unanimously rejected Marshall’s defence of insanity and diminished responsibility and convicted her of the murder of her daughter Philica Marshall.
The court heard that on December 28, 2017, Marshall set her baby afire on the instructions of “demons”. The baby died 47 days later on February 14, 2018 as a result of her wounds.
But during the trial, her lawyer Bjorn Ferguson had argued successfully before Senior Justice Bernard Turner that his client’s diagnosis of schizophrenia justified a departure from the sentencing guidelines for murder.
As a result, Turner ordered Marshall be detained at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre (SRC) for a period of six years, “unless a court determines, based on a medical report submitted to a court by a doctor with special experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, that she should be earlier released.”
Her new attorney, Tai Pinder, asked psychiatrist Dr. Kirk Christie to submit a psychiatric report to Justice Neil Brathwaite.
In the report, Christie said that Marshall’s symptoms had been “markedly attenuated” and that she could continue to receive treatment as an outpatient.
Marshall’s brother, Charles Whymms, testified that he was prepared to provide his sister with housing and to ensure that she was compliant with her treatment plan. He had assumed responsibility for Marshall’s lodging and medical care while she was on bail awaiting trial.
The judge noted that he was not being asked to impose or to revisit the sentence already imposed.
“Having regard to the report and the evidence of Charles Whymms, I am satisfied that the continued incarceration is not necessary. I, therefore, order that she be immediately released from the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.”
