By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN showed jurors his burn scars yesterday as he claimed his nephew deliberately set him on fire at their Gibbs Corner home in 2023 following an argument over dogs, causing him to fall on his elderly mother and burn her as well.
Emile Humes gave evidence virtually in the attempted murder trial of Ricardo Richardson before Justice Guillimina Archer-Minns.
Richardson is accused of setting fire to his grandmother, Magnolia Moxey, then 74, and his uncle following an argument on November 27, 2023.
Mr Humes said he went to the Quakoo Street Police Station at about 5pm that day to report the dogs his nephew kept at their shared home and request assistance having them removed.
He said that when he returned home, he encountered Richardson and told him to move the pit bulls from the porch because Ms Moxey was afraid of them.
The defendant allegedly told his uncle that he would move the dogs “over his dead body”.
An argument lasting between three and five minutes followed on the porch.
Mr Humes said Richardson told him he had something for him before allegedly running to the back of the property and retrieving a gas jug.
While Mr Humes was speaking to his mother, who was standing two to three feet away, he felt gasoline splash onto his back twice.
He said that when he turned around, he saw Richardson allegedly use a lighter to set him on fire.
Mr Humes said he feared for his life and stumbled around while trying to extinguish the flames. He then fell onto his mother, causing burns to her chest and hands. He said her foot was also burned.
He explained that some of the gasoline allegedly splashed onto Ms Moxey because she was standing close to him when he was doused.
Mr Humes said he felt as though he was losing his life during the ordeal.
While he was on fire, he allegedly heard Richardson repeatedly say, “my Grammy on fire”.
Mr Humes said the accused took Ms Moxey to hospital in a private vehicle. He was later taken to Princess Margaret Hospital after neighbours called an ambulance.
He claimed Richardson appeared angry when he was asked to move the dogs.
Mr Humes said he suffered burns to between 80 and 90 percent of his body, with only his legs remaining unburned.
He spent between five and six weeks in hospital, where he received skin grafts and other medical treatment.
Mr Humes said he was alert when he gave police a statement but was later placed in a medically induced coma because of the extent of his injuries.
He brought his arm close to the camera so jurors could see the burns to his hand and arm. He said the scars on his back and chest were the same or worse and described them as being as pale white as those on his hands.
Mr Humes said he never gave Richardson permission to burn him.
During cross-examination by defence attorney Walton Bain, Mr Humes confirmed that he signed a police statement.
Mr Bain suggested that the address Mr Humes gave in the statement differed from the address he provided while giving evidence.
Mr Humes denied that the argument concerned the care of his mother and maintained that it was about Richardson’s four dogs.
He said he never had possession of the gasoline and insisted that the accused set him on fire.
Although the defence suggested the incident was an accident, Mr Humes maintained that Richardson deliberately set him ablaze.
He said that although he fell onto his mother, gasoline must also have landed on her because Ms Moxey suffered burns to her legs, while his legs were not burned.
Mr Humes said his mother had no medical conditions at the time of the incident. He claimed he had cared for her for between eight months and a year before the alleged attack.
When questioned about Richardson’s emotional state after Ms Moxey caught fire, Mr Humes said he could not say because he was trying to save his own life.
He said he asked Richardson why he was doing this as the defendant allegedly threw gasoline on him. Mr Humes maintained that he saw the accused set him alight.
When shown a night-time photograph of a green-and-white house with a porch, Mr Humes identified it as his mother’s home.
He also identified a damaged chair on the porch as the one on which Ms Moxey had been sitting. He pointed out a black jug that he claimed contained the gasoline Richardson allegedly threw on him.
Valencia Brennen, of the Registrar General’s Department, produced Ms Moxey’s death certificate in court.
Detective Constable Freddie Moultrie, the investigator, then continued his testimony.
After the death certificate was admitted into evidence, DC Moultrie read a written statement from Ms Moxey to the court.
The officer said he obtained the statement from Ms Moxey while she was in the PMH burns unit on November 30, 2023.
Ms Moxey told police that she lived with her son, Emile, and Richardson, her grandson, at the time of the incident.
She said she had raised Richardson and that he had lived with her for five years following his mother’s death.
Ms Moxey said Richardson and her son became involved in an argument outside the house over the accused’s dogs.
She said the defendant threw something onto her son and then set him on fire.
Ms Moxey said Emile fell on top of her while screaming before Richardson lifted him off her and took her to hospital.
She said Richardson placed her in fear and requested police action. She told officers she would recognise the suspect because he was her grandson.
Sergeant 1111 Akeem Nabbie said Ms Moxey identified Richardson as her assailant in photograph number three of a 12-person photographic line-up. He said she circled and signed the photograph.
Sergeant Nabbie said Ms Moxey told him that the accused threw gasoline onto her and her son, causing them to be set on fire.
He said she was coherent during the interview but appeared to be in pain and was bandaged.
Mr Bain alleged that there were gross inconsistencies between the accounts two officers recorded from Ms Moxey.
However, Sergeant Nabbie said he did not compare notes with anyone and could speak only to what Ms Moxey told him.
He rejected the defence’s suggestion that she was incoherent because of pain medication.
The officer said he received clearance from a doctor before speaking to Ms Moxey in the burns unit.
Cephia Pinder-Moss and Khaula Reid appeared for the prosecution.
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