Cordell FARRINGTON
Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Rape - Mutilation
Number of victims: 5
Date of murders: 2002 - 2003
Date of arrest: October 26, 2003 (surrenders)
Date of birth: 1968
Victims profile: Jamaal Robinson, 22 (his lover) / Mackinson Colas, 11 / Junior Reme, 11 / DeAngelo McKenzie, 13 / Desmond Rolle, 14
Method of murder: Hitting with a wooden plank - Stabbing with knife
Location: Grand Bahama, Bahamas
Status: Sentenced to death, 2006. Commuted to life in prison on October 15, 2008. Sentenced to life in prison September 30, 2010
Cordell Farrington and the Case of the Missing Boys
Cordell Farrington; a father of three children (one just three months old) was charged in a Freeport court with the murders of Jamaal Robinson, 22, Mackinson Colas, 11, Junior Reme, 11, DeAngelo McKenzie, 13, and Desmond Rolle, 14.
The Horror: Cordell Farrington locked up for life
By Natario McKenzie - The Tribune
Friday, October 01, 2010
THE horrifying details of how four young boys died at the hands of perverted Cordell Farrington were revealed to their grieving families yesterday.
Relatives listened in disbelief as prosecutors disclosed the sordid and gruesome circumstances surrounding their killings on Grand Bahama seven years ago.
The court heard how 43-year-old Farrington picked up Mackinson Colas, 11, Junior Reme, 11, Deangelo McKenzie, 13, and Desmond Rolle, 14. He brutally attacked them and hid their bodies in secluded areas, only to return weeks later to collect the remains and store them in boxes at the home of his unsuspecting former girlfriend.
The revelations during Farrington's sentencing hearing yesterday sparked an emotional outburst from members of the victims' families who sobbed uncontrollably and had to be ushered out of the court.
Farrington had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter. In his confession, he revealed how he picked up the unsuspecting boys, sodomised them and then killed them. He told how he hid their bodies at Barbary Beach in eastern Grand Bahama, returning weeks later for their remains.
Sentencing Farrington to life, Senior Justice Jon Isaacs described the killings as "horrific and not of someone who should be readmitted into society."
The court heard how Farrington, tired of killing, walked into the Central Police Station in Grand Bahama, told police he simply could not take it anymore and confessed to the murder of 22-year-old Jamaal Robbins - who he claimed had been his lover - as well as the murders of the four boys. Farrington is already serving a life sentence for the death of Mr Robbins.
Mackinson Colas went missing on May 16, 2003. He was last seen by his mother.
Farrington told police he had picked the boy up on Pioneer's Way, Freeport. He confessed that he took Mackinson home, ordered him to take a shower and told him he was going to kill him.
According to his statement, Farrington said that when the boy asked why he had to kill him, he replied by saying simply that he "had to do it."
Farrington told police he bound the boy by his hands and feet with duct tape and struck him on the head several times with a wooden plank. He then put the boy's body in the trunk of his car, drove to Barbary Beach and buried him there. Two weeks later he returned to collect his remains.
An outburst by a sister of the deceased prompted the judge to order that all relatives leave the court.
"You took my brother from me. You are supposed to die," the woman shouted.
Deangelo McKenzie was last seen by his grandfather on May 27, 2003. Farrington told police he picked up the boy in the parking lot of the Church of God while he was heading home from school. He said he had asked the boy to go home with him to pick up some equipment for the church. He confessed that he took the boy home and had sex with him twice. He asked the boy about his family and told him he was going to have to kill him. He said the boy told him that he only wanted to go to school and have a good education.
Farrington then bound the boy with duct tape and hit him in the head several times with a wooden plank. He then put the boy's body in the trunk of his car and drove to Barbary Beach where he hid the body.
Junior Reme was reported missing on July 29, 2003, and was last seen by his mother.
Farrington told police he had picked the boy up at the rear of Christ the King Anglican Church and took him home. There he ordered the boy to take a shower but the boy refused.
Farrington told investigators that he bound the boy with duct tape and the child started to scream, so he stabbed him in the neck with a knife; all the while his own son was in another room. He told police he took the boy's body and put it in the trunk of his car. He then drove to Barbary Beach where he hid the body. Farrington told police he was sorry the boy had to die such a horrible death.
Desmond Rolle was last seen by is mother on September 28, 2003.
Farrington said he picked the boy up at a park while heading to William's Town. He told the boy he knew his mother and brother, and having gained his trust, drove him to a bushy area where he handcuffed and raped him. Farrington then slit the boy's throat, took his body back to his car and committed a sex act. He took the boy's body to Barbary Beach, slit open the chest cavity, removed his heart and severed his limbs. Farrington told police he was trying a "new way" to kill.
Prosecutor Neil Brathwaite said there was evidence that Farrington had also been involved in bestiality, had been admitted to Sandilands and had suffered physical, emotional and psychological abuse. He said the prosecution had accepted Farrington's plea of guilt to the charge of manslaughter as he had acted with diminished responsibility.
When asked whether he had anything to say, Farrington broke into tears in the prisoner's dock.
He said: "I didn't fully understand what happened but I ask for forgiveness from the family members."
His attorney Ramona Farquharson noted that Farrington had confessed to the crimes and had suffered from a severe personality disorder. She submitted that prior to committing the offences he had been a productive and law-abiding citizen.
In sentencing Farrington, Senior Justice Isaacs noted that the promising lives of four young boys had been snuffed out and that the court could show no further degree of mercy to Farrington other than what had already been afforded him. He also noted that Farrington reportedly suffered from a severe personality disorder. Senior Justice Isaacs described the killings as "horrific and not of someone who should be readmitted into society."
He sentenced Farrington to life imprisonment on each of the four counts. The judge stated that while in prison he would receive the counselling he needs. The court hoped that he would spend the rest of his natural life in jail.
Relatives of the deceased refused to speak after the hearing.
Farrington's attorney said: "I think there is a sense of relief that everything has finally come to a conclusion.
Cordell Farrington sentenced for murdered boys
BahamasUncensored,com
October 3, 2010
The monster named Cordell Farrington who killed the four boys and his ex-lover Jamaal Robbins of Grand Bahama has now been sentenced to life imprisonment four times, once each for the death of each of the boys. The deaths occurred in 2000. The crown accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, a disease of the mind that affected the mental element of the crime that reduced the crime to manslaughter and not murder for which he could have gotten the death penalty. The final phase of his trial, the sentencing, took place before Justice Jon Isaacs on Thursday 30th September. The confessions of Mr. Farrington were read in gory and complete detail in the court and were reported on Friday 1st October as follows from The Tribune:
“The court heard how Farrington, tired of killing, walked into the Central Police Station in Grand Bahama, told police he simply could not take it anymore and confessed to the murder of 22-year-old Jamaal Robbins - who he claimed had been his lover - as well as the murders of the four boys. Farrington is already serving a life sentence for the death of Mr. Robbins.
Mackison Colas 11 years old
“Mackinson Colas went missing on May 16, 2003. He was last seen by his mother.
“Farrington told police he had picked the boy up on Pioneer's Way, Freeport. He confessed that he took Mackinson home, ordered him to take a shower and told him he was going to kill him.
“According to his statement, Farrington said that when the boy asked why he had to kill him, he replied by saying simply that he "had to do it."
“Farrington told police he bound the boy by his hands and feet with duct tape and struck him on the head several times with a wooden plank. He then put the boy's body in the trunk of his car, drove to Barbary Beach and buried him there. Two weeks later he returned to collect his remains.
“An outburst by a sister of the deceased prompted the judge to order that all relatives leave the court.
"You took my brother from me. You are supposed to die," the woman shouted.
Deangelo McKenzie 13 years old
“Deangelo McKenzie was last seen by his grandfather on May 27, 2003. Farrington told police he picked up the boy in the parking lot of the Church of God while he was heading home from school. He said he had asked the boy to go home with him to pick up some equipment for the church. He confessed that he took the boy home and had sex with him twice. He asked the boy about his family and told him he was going to have to kill him. He said the boy told him that he only wanted to go to school and have a good education.
“Farrington then bound the boy with duct tape and hit him in the head several times with a wooden plank. He then put the boy's body in the trunk of his car and drove to Barbary Beach where he hid the body.
Junior Reme 11 years old
“Junior Reme was reported missing on July 29, 2003, and was last seen by his mother.
“Farrington told police he had picked the boy up at the rear of Christ the King Anglican Church and took him home. There he ordered the boy to take a shower but the boy refused.
“Farrington told investigators that he bound the boy with duct tape and the child started to scream, so he stabbed him in the neck with a knife; all the while his own son was in another room. He told police he took the boy's body and put it in the trunk of his car. He then drove to Barbary Beach where he hid the body. Farrington told police he was sorry the boy had to die such a horrible death.
Desmond Rolle 14 years old
“Desmond Rolle was last seen by his mother on September 28, 2003.
“Farrington said he picked the boy up at a park while heading to William's Town. He told the boy he knew his mother and brother, and having gained his trust, drove him to a bushy area where he handcuffed and raped him. Farrington then slit the boy's throat, took his body back to his car and committed a sex act. He took the boy's body to Barbary Beach, slit open the chest cavity, removed his heart and severed his limbs. Farrington told police he was trying a "new way" to kill.
Admitted to Sandilands
“Prosecutor Neil Brathwaite said there was evidence that Farrington had also been involved in bestiality had been admitted to Sandilands and had suffered physical, emotional and psychological abuse. He said the prosecution had accepted Farrington's plea of guilty to the charge of manslaughter as he had acted with diminished responsibility.
“When asked whether he had anything to say, Farrington broke into tears in the prisoner's dock.
“He said: "I didn't fully understand what happened but I ask for forgiveness from the family members."
“His attorney Ramona Farquharson noted that Farrington had confessed to the crimes and had suffered from a severe personality disorder. She submitted that prior to committing the offences he had been a productive and law-abiding citizen.
“In sentencing Farrington, Senior Justice Isaacs noted that the promising lives of four young boys had been snuffed out and that the court could show no further degree of mercy to Farrington other than what had already been afforded him. He also noted that Farrington reportedly suffered from a severe personality disorder. Senior Justice Isaacs described the killings as "horrific and not of someone who should be readmitted into society."
“He sentenced Farrington to life imprisonment on each of the four counts. The judge stated that while in prison he would receive the counseling he needs. The court hoped that he would spend the rest of his natural life in jail.
“Relatives of the deceased refused to speak after the hearing."
Death Sentence Overturned
By Brent Dean - The Bahama Journal
October 15th, 2008
Convicted killer Cordell Farrington has had his murder conviction and death sentence quashed by the Court of Appeal. Instead he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison.
The ruling came down yesterday when the court also gave ruling in the cases of eight others accused of crimes including armed robbery, rape, attempted murder and murder.
President of the Court of Appeal Dame Joan Sawyer delivered Farrington’s ruling. She sat yesterday with along with Justices Milton Ganpatsingh and Emmanuel Osadebay.
Farrington, who was represented by attorney Wayne Munroe, has also been charged with the killings of Deangelo McKenzie, Desmond Rolle, Mackinson Colas and Junior Reme. These were four of the five boys killed in Grand Bahama in 2003. He has not been tried for their deaths.
The court also dismissed the appeals against the murder conviction and death sentence against Maxo Tido. Tido still faces hanging for the 2002 killing of 16-year-old Donnel Conover.
Her body was found in a quarry pit off Cowpen Road with her head crushed and part of her body burned. Tido was the first person sentenced to death in the Bahamas in 2006 after the mandatory death sentence for murder was abolished as a result of a Privy Council ruling.
Fredrick Francis, the man convicted of murdering Austrian tourists Bernhard Bolanzo and Barbara Frellin von Perfall, will still serve life in prison for the killings. The Attorney General’s Office had appealed the sentences arguing they were too lenient for the crimes committed. However, the appeals court did not instate the death penalty against Francis. He was also convicted for armed robbery and the rape of Von Perfall along with the murders. The visitors were killed at the Bimini Blue Water Resort in 2005.
The court also gave its written reasons for dismissing the applications by the Attorney General’s Office for leave to the court to appeal against the sentences of Justice Jon Isaacs for three people convicted of murder – Nekita Hamilton, James Dean and Michelle Woodside. Justice Ganpatsingh delivered the ruling from the May 22nd decision.
The trio was re-sentenced by the Supreme Court after the mandatory death sentence was abolished in the Bahamas. Hamilton was convicted in April 1989 of the murder of David Cleare and sentenced to death. He was re-sentenced to 5 years in jail as of September 2007 and three years probation following this.
Michelle Woodside killed nun sister Claire Hass in 1991 to cover up theft. She bashed the nun in the head with a block before slitting her throat. After being in custody for 16 years, she was sentenced to 5 additional years in jail from September 2007 with 2 years of probation after this time.
James Dean was convicted of murder in 1988 in the course of armed robbery. In the 1990’s his death sentence was commuted to life. He was re-sentenced to 3 years imprisonment as of September 2007 with three years probation following.
The court ruled that the AG’s Office botched the process of appeal in the cases of James Dean and Michelle Woodside. The duo was not served with the notices of application for leave to appeal.
The ruling also notes that none of the three convicts were served with either tran scri pts or skeleton arguments pertaining to their appeals. This was not done despite requests by their counsel for the documents.
The court said that it reached the decision to dismiss the appeals with "regret since in (their) view there were issues raised on the record, which could have resulted in an arguable appeal on the validity of the sentences passed."
The Court of Appeal also dismissed the appeal by Ernest Lockhart against his conviction and death sentence. He is convicted of killing Claxton Smith. Additionally, the court dismissed the appeal by Lockhart’s co-accused Jeffrey Prosper on conviction.
Kendon Brown also lost his appeal against conviction for manslaughter in the killing of nurse Joan Lunn and the attempted murder of Anthony Saunders.
The Farrington case
BahamasUncensored.com
August 20, 2006
After weeks of testimony, most of it prurient and scandalous, Cordell Farrington was convicted on Friday 18th August of the murder of Jamal Robins of Freeport. Mr. Robins’ parents pronounced themselves happy with the verdict. They said that their son could now rest in peace. The prosecution was justly proud of the verdict. They needed a conviction on this very simple and straightforward case. The jury did its job too, and quickly. Now comes the sentencing phase.
Of course the evidence did reveal something, which we do not know if the jury considered; and whether it may form the basis of an appeal if the Judge did not leave it to the jury. While the psychiatrist and the psychologist who testified, Michael Neville and Timothy Barrett respectively said that Mr. Farrington was clearly not insane because at the time of the act he appreciated right from wrong, it was also clear that they said that he had a disease of the mind which would suggest the defence of diminished responsibility. This is the same defence that allowed the Hanna son who murdered his entire family to get life imprisonment in the 1980s. It is not clear from the newspaper reports whether the defence attorney raised it in her arguments.
The result of a successful defence of diminished responsibility is a manslaughter conviction. The penalty is up to life imprisonment. Perhaps at the sentencing phase on the murder conviction, these arguments will come out. However, the sordid life of Mr. Farrington is one that the sociologists of The Bahamas should study for years to come. Here was a homosexual man who has three children with a woman with whom he also claimed he had a loving relationship. She came, testified and confirmed it. He said in his confession to the murder that he killed Mr. Robins because he loved him so much that he wanted him to be with him forever. Killing him was a way to do that. They became sexual lovers at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre where both were recovering from drug addictions.
According to the accused, Mr. Robins reverted to his addiction when they moved to Freeport, and he killed Mr. Robins because he was so angry that Mr. Robins would not stop stealing from him and using drugs. He asked another lover with whom he was also living to help him dispose of Mr. Robins’ body. It was a strange thing also that the lover who helped him dispose of the body was so frightened that he did not tell the police. He said he was afraid that he would be exposed as homosexual. This is really the stuff for a movie. Anyway, the matter is over for now. Mr. Farrington is either headed for the death penalty or life imprisonment. We understand that Mr. Farrington now has to stand trial for the death of four young boys in Freeport.
Murder Accused Seeks Forgiveness
By Stephen Gay - The Bahama Journal
August 15th, 2006
Accused serial killer Cordell Farrington explained in the Supreme Court on Monday how he murdered his former lover in Grand Bahama and asked the young man’s family for forgiveness hours after jurors viewed a videotape with him confessing to police to the murder.
Farrington is also accused of murdering four of five missing boys in Grand Bahama in 2003, but it is the murder of Jamaal Robbins that he is now standing trial for.
The accused murderer gave an un-sworn statement in court on Monday afternoon, saying the events of the day he murdered Robbins have haunted him in prison for the last three years.
He also said he wishes things had ended differently and that had he had a little more control Robbins would have been alive today.
The accused said he still feels that Robbins is with him and he said he loved him so much that he felt that he knew him better than his family did.
Farrington also told the court that he suffers from periodic memory lapses that resulted from an abusive childhood. Jurors heard a similar story earlier in the day as they viewed a videotape that featured the accused confessing to police to killing Robbins.
For almost an hour jurors watched as an apparently calm Farrington gave police the details of the brutal murder. During the viewing the accused, who was sitting in the prisoner’s dock, appeared emotionless as the events of that night were relived.
On the videotape Farrington recounted how he and Robbins first met and how they became lovers back in 2000 at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre in New Providence. Farrington described that relationship as a business relationship that was strictly sexual. He went on to describe how they carried on that relationship in Grand Bahama after being released from Sandilands.
According to Farrington, after a few months things changed and Robbins began using drugs again and resorted to stealing to support his habit. In his confession, Farrington said Robbins threatened to leave him because he could not afford him, and according to the accused it was that issue that angered him to the point of murder.
He then told officers that one night as Robbins was lying across the bed they shared, he hit him across the head with an iron plank as hard as he could, followed by blows about the body.
Farrington then described how he wrapped the body in a blanket and how with the help of an ex-lover, Oterrio Floyd, disposed of the body in a bushy area off the Grand Bahama Highway.
He told police that he returned to the scene in December 2002 to ensure that the body was deteriorating so that he would be able to package the remains and take them home for safe keeping.
During the confession, Assistant Superintendent Anthony Ferguson asked Farrington why he kept the remains. The accused replied that stashing the remains was in his mind all along because he knew how important finding those bones would be to police.
In his un-sworn statement the accused said he also wanted Robbins to always be near him.
On videotape, ASP Ferguson asked Farrington if he had thoughts of killing again. The accused responded, "yes", and said it was only a matter of how and when.
More testimony is expected to be heard in the case on Tuesday morning when the trail resumes. The defense is expected to call physiatrist Dr. Michael Neville to the stand.
Former lover of accused testifies
By Jimenita Swain - The Nassau Guardian
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Former lover of murder accused Cordell Farrington testified yesterday of how under duress he helped in disposing of the body of Jamal Robins off the Grand Bahama Highway. Robins went missing between July and August 2002.
Oterrio Floyd, a pool attendant at Lyford Cay explained that in 2002 he lived at Mallory Lane. He was employed at Burger King as a cleaner making about $165 a week. The witness who tried to contain his tears was very emotional throughout his testimony.
The witness said he met Cordell Farrington in January 2002 and he moved in within a week of them meeting. He was 21 at the time. Residing in the apartment with him was Cordell Farrington and two other room-mates.
Farrington, his lover, slept in his bedroom, he said. "He stopped living in my bedroom in late May (2002) when Elkin and Joseph moved out," the witness told the court. Floyd said he started seeing Jamal Robins around their apartment in February 2002.
On July 17, 2002, the witness said, he left work at 12 and got home at about 12.30 p.m. He testified that he overheard an argument between Farrington and Robins. "Cordell was telling him if he sell his body he might catch AIDS. At that point he just said in a friendly way, 'I would kill that boy,'" he stated.
The witness said the conversation did not last very long and he did not intervene in any way. He went to bed and was awakened by a rumbling about 6.30 a.m.
Within the next five minutes he said the accused was at his door shouting, "Terry, Terry, Terry, I kill him!" The witness said he was not pleased with being awakened at that hour nor did he believe the accused. Nonetheless he followed him to the bedroom where he said he saw a body lying face up on the floor.
"It was Jamal Robins' body," he disclosed. The witness told the court that the accused was standing near the body. He was wrapping the body up and cleaning up blood. Angrily he asked Farrington what he had done in their home.
Pacing the hallway of their home, the witness questioned who he was going to tell, but because he was "gay" he decided he could not tell his mother or the police.
Floyd said he never went into the room with body. "He shook me and say Terry, Terry catch yourself. He said he would harm me and kill my family," the witness stated.
Floyd said Farrington went back into the bedroom and completed wrapping up the body and soaking up blood with towels and sheets. "I was forced to help him carry the body because he told me it was too heavy for him to lift," he said. Complying with the request Robins' body was placed in the back trunk of Farrington's car and discarded in bushes off the Grand Bahama Highway.
Throughout his testimony Farrington nor Floyd appeared to look at each other. Farrington sat in the prisoner's dock with his head bowed and eyes downcast throughout the evidence.
Edward Robins broke down and had to be escorted out of court during the evidence.
Bahamas Man Charged After 4 Boys Vanish
By Dominic Duncombe - Associated Press Writer
October 29, 2003
A hardware store stock clerk was charged with five counts of murder on Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of four boys and a young man on Grand Bahama Island.
Cordell Farrington, 35, was charged in the Freeport court with the murders of Jamaal Robinson, 22, Mackinson Colas, 11, Junior Reme, 11, DeAngelo McKenzie, 13, and Desmond Rolle, 14.
All of the boys had worked as bag-packers at the Winn Dixie Supermarket in Freeport and played video games nearby. Farrington worked as a clerk at Kelly's Freeport Ltd., a hardware store located near the Winn Dixie.
McKenzie disappeared in May along with Colas and Jake Grant, 12. Reme vanished June 30 and Rolle on Sept. 28.
Four minors were charged earlier this month with manslaughter in connection with Grant's disappearance. Grant allegedly drowned, according to the minors charged, but his body has not been found yet.
Piles of skeletal remains were found Sunday in the Barbary Beach area.
"It's a hard thing to deal with," said Hercules Knowles, DeAngelo's uncle. "It ends the waiting. It's something (now) you can put to rest."
Christopher Lowe, a manager at the hardware store where Farrington worked, said Farrington had worked there for three months and passed all of his background checks.
Farrington, who reportedly has three children of his own, disappeared from work last Thursday at noon.
"His disposition was always happy, cheery and never miserable," Lowe said. "There was absolutely nothing to indicate anything like this."
Police in the Bahamas were assisted by the FBI and British officers from Scotland Yard. A retired FBI profiler and a former Las Vegas homicide detective were also sent to help by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, based in Alexandria, Va.
Serial killer of 5 found in Bahamas
Oct 2003
Investigators in the Bahamas are beginning to piece together details of a serial killing case that broke after a quiet warehouse clerk turned himself in and was charged in the deaths of four missing boys and a 22-year-old friend.
Common characteristics in the deaths of the five all point to one killer, assistant police commissioner Ellison Greenslade said yesterday.
"The fingerprints are glaring," he said. "This is a complicated investigation. There's a lot more work to be done."
Cordell Farrington, 35, has been charged with the murders of two 11-year-old, a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old and 22-year-old Jamaal Robins, whom he befriended at a drug rehabilitation center.
Farrington's ex-girlfriend, who identified herself only by the last name Dean, said police seized three cardboard boxes that allegedly belonged to Farrington last week.
The boxes contained human bones separated into plastic bags and labeled with numbers, one police officer told The Associated Press.
Dean, with whom Farrington has a 3-month-old daughter, said he kept the boxes in a room that he used to craft artwork with driftwood and conch shells.
"He used to say, 'This is my room, and no one is to go in there,"' she said at her doorstep on Sunday.
Farrington was not asked to enter a plea in court last week. He is jailed pending a hearing on February 17. If convicted, he could be hanged.
Investigators told victims' relatives Farrington led them to other remains scattered on the eastern end of Grand Bahama, an island of resorts and golf courses fringed with pine forests.
Friends described Farrington as a bright, articulate man who was an avid reader of the Bible and had kicked a crack habit.
"I'm just completely baffled by it," said Elkin Moss, 26, Farrington's roommate for several months last year.
Dean said she met Farrington at a gas station and they started living together earlier this year, before the boys began to disappear in May.
Dean said Farrington mentioned being abused as a child but was a good father. She said they began to argue when she noticed he was losing weight and suspected he had started using drugs again.
They separated on October 26, just hours before Farrington turned himself in to police. By then, Dean said, Farrington had moved the boxes to the porch of her mother's house for storage. She said police later came for them.
A sixth body found at an undisclosed location has yet to be identified, although 12-year-old Jake Grant disappeared in May.
