Man has 20 convictions for stealing dead bodies

A 63-year-old ex-convict shocked persons in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court yesterday after he revealed that he was sentenced 20 times for removing dead bodies from the cemetery.

The accused, Donovan Butler, also told the court that he had just finished serving a three-year prison sentence earlier this year, stemming from the last time he was charged. Butler is facing allegations that he tricked a man out of $7,000, and was remanded until June 15. The court heard that, on July 9, 2019, Butler told the complainant that he had been robbed of his motor car and his licensed firearm and needed assistance to go to the police station. The complainant agreed to assist but while on the journey to the Constant Spring Police Station, Butler changed his mind and asked to borrow $7,000 from the complainant. He left the vehicle and disappeared.

On April 4, the complainant spotted him and summoned the Half-Way Tree police who arrested him. Yesterday, as soon as he walked into the prisoner's dock in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, Butler was instantly recognised by Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque.

"You come before me already, don't you," she asked. "Yes, sometime ago," Butler responded. She then asked him how many previous convictions he had.

"Twenty, ma'am," he replied. When she asked what were the type of offences, Butler said, "For removing a corpse from the cemetery." "And what else?" the judge further asked.

"That's it, ma'am," he said while explaining that he had pleaded guilty 20 times to removing the dead bodies. He also revealed that she was the one who had sentenced him to prison on the last occasion.

This is not the first time Butler has been implicated in larceny. In 2015, he was before the court for allegedly stealing a Samsung smartphone. The allegations are that, on July 3, Butler went to a hotel in Kingston reporting that his car and licensed firearm had been stolen. The complainant told the court that he offered to transport Butler to the national security ministry to report the stolen firearm. On arrival, Butler borrowed the complainant's phone to make a call while entering the office. After waiting for 15 minutes, the complainant could not find Butler. He was later arrested and the phone was later recovered.

As it relates to the current case, he pleaded not guilty, telling Cole-Montaque that it could not have been him as he was in prison at the time the offence is said to have taken place. The complainant, however, was not present in court. Butler was remanded and a mention date was scheduled for efforts to be made to have the complainant in court.