Hill Foot Welder Sentenced to 16 Years for Killing Wife
October 16 2025
A Hill Foot, Soesdyke/Linden Highway welder has been sentenced to 16 years and eight months’ imprisonment for the 2022 killing of his partner during a domestic altercation.
Forty-seven-year-old Jason Kellman appeared before Justice Zamilla Ally-Seepaul at the High Court in Demerara, where he was sentenced for the unlawful killing of 43-year-old Umadai “Samantha” Lall.
Kellman had earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter, following a reduction of the initial murder charge.
In delivering the sentence, Justice Ally-Seepaul explained that the court started from a baseline of 25 years’ imprisonment, applying a one-third reduction to reflect the early guilty plea.
The final sentence was therefore set at 16 years and eight months, with no further deductions granted, as the judge determined that the aggravating and mitigating factors were evenly balanced.
The court considered pre-sentencing reports, including a psychological evaluation, Kellman’s conduct while in custody, and victim impact statements from Lall’s relatives, which detailed the emotional toll her death has taken on the family.
Representing the prosecution were State Counsel Nelissa Peterkin, assisted by State Counsel Praneta Seeraj and State Counsel Christopher Belfield, who outlined the aggravating factors.
Defence Attorney Edrianna Stephen of the law firm, Hughes, Fields & Stoby presented mitigating circumstances and character references on Kellman’s behalf.
According to police investigations, the fatal altercation occurred in December 2022, after Kellman accused Lall of drinking alcohol in the presence of their young son.
The argument escalated, and Kellman admitted to striking Lall repeatedly in the head and face. He told investigators that he realised the severity of her injuries only the next morning, when he found her unresponsive.
Lall was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. A post-mortem examination confirmed that she died from shock and haemorrhage due to multiple blunt force injuries.
Justice Ally-Seepaul, in her remarks, condemned the act as a grave instance of domestic violence, emphasizing that Kellman’s actions not only ended Lall’s life but also left deep emotional scars on their child and family.
