Caymanian man denies stabbing Jamaican vendor in beach dispute

A Caymanian man has denied stabbing 32-year-old Jamaican vendor Marco Green during an altercation at Seven Mile Public Beach in April last year.

Appearing before Justice Emma Peters in a short half-day trial on Wednesday, 34-year-old Romell Millwood pleaded not guilty to the charge of wounding. He insisted that he was in West Bay doing yard work at the time of the incident and had not been to Seven Mile Public Beach since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Green, who testified via video link from Jamaica, where he relocated shortly after the assault, gave a starkly different account. He told the court he was “one million per cent certain” that Millwood was his attacker.

According to Green, he had returned to the beach that day to help a friend sell drinks and jerk chicken, despite previously receiving a warning from officials about illegal vending. He said Millwood approached him, warning that “local vendors did not want any Jamaicans selling on the beach.”

Green said he tried to walk away, but moments later Millwood confronted him again, threatening him before stabbing him in the back. He testified that he was stabbed or slashed three more times—in the arm, face, and scalp—with a camouflage knife with a six-inch blade.

“I ran towards the sea to get away,” Green recalled, adding that although the beach was crowded, no one intervened. He said he managed to find his friend, who rushed him to hospital as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Green was treated for blood loss and multiple wounds requiring stitches, but was released the same evening.

Millwood, however, denied any involvement. He said he had never worked as a vendor at the beach and was not present at the time of the stabbing. On the advice of his attorney, he gave police a “no comment” interview and did not disclose his alibi until court.

The case has unfolded against a backdrop of public concerns about illegal vending at Seven Mile Public Beach, which has become increasingly crowded with cruise ship passengers during weekdays.

Millwood has opted for a judge-alone trial.