The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was accused yesterday of plotting the kidnapping and murder of his wife, primary school teacher Jillian Pinder, as her grieving relatives packed a courtroom and said they felt some relief that charges had finally been brought more than three months after her abduction.

“It was a bit of relief just seeing that he was charged,” Pinder’s brother, Jason Rahming, said outside court. “And we just hope for swift, swift justice.”

George Pinder, 62, and Lenardo Farrington, 44, are accused of conspiring to cause Pinder’s death on June 4.

Farrington is accused of kidnapping Pinder from her Lake Cunningham home that day. Both men face murder charges, while Pinder was additionally charged with abetment to murder.

Pinder, a 56-year-old mother of two and teacher at TG Glover Primary School, died on July 13, more than a month after she was allegedly abducted and stabbed in the throat.

Two men allegedly held her at knifepoint at her home, told her that someone close to her owed them $4,000 and took her to an unknown location.

She was later left in her vehicle in the Wulff Road area.

Despite her injuries, Pinder managed to drive into another vehicle, whose occupants helped her.

She was admitted to the intensive care unit, later discharged and then readmitted before her death. Her funeral was held in early August.

Her relatives had expressed frustration with police in the months after the kidnapping over the length of time it took for charges to be brought.

Mr Rahming described his sister as the most beautiful person he had ever met and said she did not deserve what happened to her.

He said the tragedy had left him feeling empty and that his grief was difficult to put into words.

Mrs Pinder’s cousin, Kaliah Sutherland, said the family was standing together and seeking justice for her.

“As I sat by my cousin’s bedside, I told her, ‘you have to get up, you have to tell us who did this to you’,” Ms Sutherland said, “and we thank God that justice is being served. It’s been so swift. We can’t bring her back, but we know that whoever is responsible will be held before the courts.”

Pinder was unconscious in hospital and unable to tell her cousin who attacked her, but Ms Sutherland said she was trusting that authorities had identified the right suspects.

Pinder and Farrington appeared calm and well-kept during their arraignment before Assistant Chief Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux. Both wore white shirts.

The courtroom was packed with Pinder’s colleagues, friends and relatives. Some female relatives appeared teary-eyed during the proceedings.

The accused were not required to enter pleas.

They were informed that the matter would proceed to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment and were told of their right to apply for bail in the higher court.

Both men were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until service of the voluntary bill of indictment on January 25, 2027.

Bjorn Ferguson represented Pinder.