By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN previously convicted in the 2016 murder and armed robbery of ZNS broadcaster Scott Richards has successfully overturned her conviction and now awaits resentencing on a lesser charge.

Raquel Johnson, 38, appeared before Justices Milton Evans, Indra Charles and Gregory Smith in the Court of Appeal last week. Johnson had originally been found guilty alongside co-accused Richard Bevans, 36, for the fatal armed robbery of Richards. In 2023, she was sentenced to 28 years for murder and ten years for armed robbery. Bevans received a 48-year sentence.

The convictions stemmed from a 2016 incident in which Richards, 48, was shot multiple times at Bonefish Pond National Park. His body was later discovered by police, who also found his vehicle, condoms and a woman’s skirt near the crime scene.

A jury of nine convicted both Johnson and Bevans in July 2022.

During her appeal, Johnson argued that the trial judge erred by ruling she had a case to answer and by allowing hearsay evidence. She also identified herself as the deceased’s girlfriend.

Although Justice Smith dissented, the majority upheld Johnson’s appeal on the grounds that the trial judge should have allowed the jury to consider alternative verdicts of manslaughter or robbery. The court found that prosecutors had failed to prove Johnson intended to kill Richards or assist the gunman in doing so.

As a result, the Court of Appeal quashed her murder and armed robbery convictions and ordered a new sentence for robbery to be determined on October 7.

In her ruling summary, Senior Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson had noted that Johnson maintained her innocence throughout the trial, claiming she was in a sexual relationship with Richards and that they had been intimate at the park when a man dressed in white and armed with a handgun robbed the victim.

Johnson said she fled in a state of undress after hearing a gunshot and seeing Richards collapse in a pool of blood. She took a bus home and did not report the incident, later claiming fear for her safety. She was arrested days later.

The co-accused gave conflicting accounts of the incident and denied knowing each other prior to their arrests.

During trial testimony, a senior police officer said Johnson had told investigators she received a call from a man named Ramond Gibson while she was with Richards and revealed their location. According to the officer, she admitted Gibson said he intended to rob Richards. Johnson later claimed the statement was made under duress and that Gibson had threatened her and her children.

Justice Grant-Thompson had characterised the crime as “heinous” and a “cold-blooded” act, saying: “Mr Scott Richards was robbed, shot and left to die on the ground, like an animal.” She also criticised the impact on the crime scene, calling it a desecration of a once-picturesque setting.

She acknowledged Johnson’s expression of sympathy to the victim’s family but noted that neither accused showed genuine remorse. While she concluded that Johnson was capable of rehabilitation, she described the crime as “abhorrent”.

Justice Grant-Thompson said Bevans was not of good character, citing his prior armed robbery convictions and an unrelated prison sentence he is currently serving. A probation report also alleged Bevans confessed to murdering a pastor at an ATM, though the judge said this unverified claim had no bearing on the ruling.

Justice Grant-Thompson had said she intended for sentencing to send a clear message that such conduct is “unacceptable” in society.

Johnson was represented by Nathan Smith. Terry Archer appeared for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.