Trial Date Set for Melissa Cylus in Manslaughter Case
Melissa Cylus is scheduled to stand trial on June 5 before Justice Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the Georgetown High Courts for the 2018 killing of her common-law husband, Julian Anthony Reberio. Cylus, who faces a charge of manslaughter, has entered a not-guilty plea.
On May 29, 2018, Cylus, then 28 years old, appeared before City Magistrate Daly, where she was not required to plead to the indictable charge and was granted bail in the sum of GY$200,000. The charge alleges that on May 13, 2018, at around 3:00 AM, Cylus unlawfully killed 32-year-old Reberio at their residence on Soesdyke Back Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
According to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Cylus initially claimed that her reputed husband returned home intoxicated and fell in the house. She stated that she rushed him to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he was pronounced dead. In another statement, she mentioned attempting to wake him but found him unresponsive. However, a post-mortem conducted by Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh revealed that Reberio died from asphyxiation due to compression injuries to the neck, indicating death by strangulation. The autopsy report did not list any evidence of head injuries.
Cylus was arrested on May 25, 2018, and after hours of interrogation at the Timehri Police Station, she allegedly admitted that she and Reberio had an argument during which, in a moment of anger, she strangled him.
When the case was recalled before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in June 2018, Police Prosecutor Inspector Neville Jeffers disclosed that the post-mortem report was still outstanding, leading to a three-week adjournment. The matter was postponed until July 4, 2018. At that hearing, the Chief Magistrate ordered that Cylus undergo counseling for an anxiety disorder and assigned her to a probation officer. Cylus, who was six months pregnant at the time of her arraignment, has remained out on bail pending the outcome of the trial beginning Wednesday.
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