A Supreme Court jury today found contractor Prince Hepburn guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Nellie Mae Brown-Cox, almost two years after the charity worker was found chopped to death in her South Beach apartment.
Hepburn, who had been in a five-year relationship with Brown-Cox, showed no visible reaction after the verdict, which was delivered around 2:30 p.m.
It came about an hour and a half after the jury started deliberating. Hepburn’s attorney Murrio Ducille plans to file an appeal on the conviction after the Easter holidays.
“It does not end here,” Ducille told reporters. “The system eventually will work. Where there are slip-ups in the system there is always somewhere else where it can be taken care of.”
Hepburn’s legal team argued that he had a temporary psychotic illness, which left him with diminished responsibility for the killing.
During the trial the court also heard that Hepburn tried to kill himself after he chopped Brown-Cox to death.
Prosecutor Franklyn Williams did not give interviews after the verdict. Brown-Cox’s family also did not speak to the press.
Police found Brown-Cox’s body on the kitchen floor of the apartment, lying in a pool of blood on April 7, 2011. Police believe she died between April 6 and 7.
She had severe wounds across her body and the fingers on her right hand were missing.
Last week, crime scene investigator Dwayne Stubbs testified that a silver cutlass was found near the victim’s foot with the words “You’re next George Sawyer NX” on one side and “This is what cheaters get” on the other side.
He said a second cutlass found in the bedroom had the words “Cheaters and Liars” on both sides.
Hepburn and Brown-Cox had plans to marry after their divorces to their respective spouses were finalized, the court heard earlier this week.
Hepburn will be sentenced on May 22.
By Taneka Thompson
Guardian Staff Reporter
