Woman Jailed for Seven Years Over East Ruimveldt Fatal Stabbing

November 20 2025

A 23-year-old woman, Shamirika Gibson, was on Wednesday sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment after appearing before Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court in Demerara.

She had previously pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in connection with the 2022 death of Carol Davidson, a mother of two.

Gibson, formerly of North East La Penitence Squatting Area, Georgetown, had initially been indicted for murder but accepted responsibility for manslaughter based on a statement of agreed facts presented to the court.

She was represented by attorney-at-law Madan Kissoon, while the prosecution team comprised State Counsel Simran Gajraj, Christopher Belfield, and Geneva Wills.

Before sentencing, Chief Justice Singh had ordered the preparation of pre-sentencing reports—including probation, prison conduct, and victim impact assessments—to assist in determining an appropriate sentence.

The prosecution also outlined aggravating factors, while the defence submitted mitigating factors on Gibson’s behalf.

The court also ordered that the time Gibson spent on remand be deducted from the seven-year prison term.

According to the agreed facts, the incident occurred on June 6, 2022, at East Ruimveldt Squatting Area, Georgetown.

Davidson, 21, was in a yard when she was approached by Gibson and her sister.

During the confrontation that followed, Gibson pulled a knife from her jacket and stabbed Davidson in the chest. The injured woman attempted to flee but collapsed at the back of the yard and later died.

During the investigation, Gibson provided a video-recorded statement detailing how she inflicted the fatal injury and accompanied investigators to the scene.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that Davidson died from a perforation of the heart caused by a stab wound to the chest.