Sept. 20, 2004 – The true details — whether it was foolish play with weapons gone wrong or whether there was some murderous intent – may never be known. What is known and what can't be changed is that a 16-year-old St. Thomas high school student is dead and an 18-year-old student has been charged with murder because of a Sept. 16 incident in the Bovoni housing community.
Antonia Callwood, who attended Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, died of a gunshot through his neck. A fellow student at the high school, Cyril Gillard Jr., has been charged with murder and is in custody.
According to Sgt. Thomas Hannah, V.I. Police Department, Gillard told police that the two were fooling around, that Callwood had jokingly put a knife to Gillard's neck and Gillard put a 38-caliber handgun to Callwood's neck.
Hannah said he believed the first-degree murder charge resulted because, "You know what a gun can do. When you put a gun to someone's neck, there is intent."
Both Gillard and Callwood were residents of the Bovoni community housing. The incident occurred in a stairwell near Building 4.
According to a report in the Daily News, Territorial Court Judge Rhys Hodge, in an advisory hearing the day after the incident, found probable cause to charge Gillard with first-degree murder and set his bail at $500,000.
Hannah said Gillard's arraignment would be Sept. 23 at 9 a.m.
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