Colin Francis Junior Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Queen Street Police Cell Killing

Seven years after he was accused of killing fellow detainee Nestor Vasquez inside the Queen Street Police Station, Colin Francis Junior has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.  The 32-year-old also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of psychiatric nurse Augustina Elijio, who was stabbed at the Port Loyola Mental Health Clinic two days before the fatal attack on Vasquez.  Francis entered both pleas before High Court Justice Nigel Pilgrim on this afternoon as part of an agreement between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and his attorney, Peta-Gay Bradley.  The Crown accepted the reduced plea of manslaughter in Vasquez’s death on the basis of diminished responsibility. Medical evidence indicated that Francis, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was experiencing an acute psychotic episode at the time.  The first incident occurred on June 4, 2019, when Francis visited the Port Loyola Mental Health Clinic seeking treatment.   According to the agreed facts, he returned later that afternoon in an agitated state and said he was not feeling well.  Francis subsequently attacked Nurse Elijio, stabbing her twice, in the right breast and rib area. Her injuries were classified as grievous harm.  Francis was detained and placed at the Queen Street Police Station. Two days later, on June 6, he and 60-year-old Nestor Vasquez were reportedly the only detainees in the cell area when officers heard a commotion.  When checks were made, Vasquez was found badly injured in a pool of blood, while Francis was standing nearby. Vasquez died at the hospital on June 8. A doctor determined that his death resulted from blunt-force trauma to the head.  Vasquez was the brother of Channel 7’s Jules Vasquez.  The cases had been delayed because of questions surrounding Francis’s mental fitness to enter a plea and stand trial. In 2024, he was declared unfit to plead and Justice Pilgrim ordered psychiatric assessments every six months.  A recent evaluation by psychiatrist Dr. Denethia Usher found that Francis was stable, taking his medication and no longer using marijuana. He was subsequently found fit to enter pleas.  Justice Pilgrim accepted the guilty pleas and ordered the preparation of a social inquiry report, a prison report and victim-impact statements in both cases.  Francis has been on remand since June 2019. His attorney will make mitigation submissions before Justice Pilgrim sentences him on September 7.