Lucinda Stephen yesterday pleaded guilty to murdering her four-year-old daughter, Rianna Ambrose, who died after being repeatedly struck on the head with a piece of wood in March last year.
Stephen appeared before Justice Navindra Singh at the Georgetown High Court and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 23.
According to the statement of agreed facts, Stephen and her husband, Regan Ambrose, were consuming alcohol at approximately 7 pm on March 12, 2025.
An argument developed at about 12.45 am the following morning, after which Ambrose left their home and went to the residence of Stephen’s sister, Joyce Stephen.
At approximately 3 am, Joyce heard screams coming from the couple’s home and went to investigate. She saw Stephen holding a round piece of wood, approximately two and a half feet long, and striking Rianna on the head.
Joyce witnessed approximately five blows before the child collapsed.
Police subsequently visited the scene and seized the piece of wood. Rianna was taken to the Aishalton District Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Her body was later transported to the Lethem Regional Hospital pending a post-mortem examination.
Stephen was arrested and held at the Aishalton Police Station. During a video- and audio-recorded interview, she admitted striking the child.
She initially said she had hit Rianna on the buttocks but later stated that she could not see exactly where she had struck her. When shown the piece of wood recovered from the scene, she acknowledged using it to hit the child.
Stephen later accompanied investigators to the scene and made further admissions, which were also video-recorded.
A post-mortem examination performed by Dr Nehaul Singh on March 18, 2025, established that Rianna died from cerebral haemorrhage caused by blunt trauma to the head.
State Counsel Praneta Seeraj, of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, represented the prosecution, while attorney Meshonn Persaud represented Stephen.
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