THE Jamaican wife who is facing, with a fellow villager, a charge of murdering her Finnish husband, was this week granted $750,000 bail to return to court on February 22.

She is Melody Baugh-Pellinen, 24, bar operator of Lyssons, St Thomas, who is charged jointly with Marvin Stewart, 30, carpenter, with the shooting death of her 57-year-old husband Dr Timo Pellinen, in Trelawny in October 2005. The two accused are charged jointly also with conspiracy to murder Dr Pellinen, who practised medicine in Helsinki, Finland.

When the case came up before Resident Magistrate Frank Williams in the RM Court at Clarke's Town, Trelawny for the scheduled start of a preliminary inquiry into the charges, clerk of courts Conrad Fray, who is new to the matter, applied to the RM for an adjournment. It was on the basis that the file had not been completed, as statements from three witnesses were outstanding.

The court was also told that that there were three witnesses to be called from Finland and Fray said that it would be more economical in terms of time and other factors, for them to visit Jamaica once, rather than to come for the preliminary inquiry into the charges and return in case the accused are committed for trial in the circuit court.

He said that when the file was completed he would submit it to the director of public prosecutions for him to rule whether a voluntary bill of indictment should be preferred against the accused, thus sending the matter directly to the circuit court, thereby waiving the necessity for a preliminary inquiry.
Resident Magistrate Williams granted the adjournment to February 22 and set the matter for hearing in case the DPP ruled that there should be preliminary inquiry into the charges.

On the application of attorney-at-law George Soutar, who represents Baugh-Pellinen, he granted her $750,000 bail with one or two sureties. Also, he ordered her to surrender her travel documents and to report at the Morant Bay police station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. and that a "stop order" be placed against her, preventing her from travelling outside of the island.

Stewart, who is represented by attorney-at-law Ronald Koathes, was granted bail in the sum of $500,000 with similar conditions, several weeks ago. Both were charged on October 19, 2005. Dr Pellinen was shot dead on the Harmony Hall main road, Trelawny, on the night of October 1, 2005, while his wife was driving him to Ocho Rios, St Ann, from the Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay.

The prosecution is alleging that Baugh-Pellinen had picked up her husband at the airport and was taking him to stay in Ocho Rios, when she pulled over on the soft shoulder. Another car which was travelling behind her car, bumped into it, she got out to inspect her car, as did the man who was driving the other car, and they both agreed that no damage had been done.
Her husband then went to take a look, and the driver of the other car fired three shots. The wife ran into nearby bushes from which she said she heard another shot.

She called the police on her mobile phone and when they arrived they found that her husband had been shot dead.
Police investigations led to the arrest of Baugh-Pellinen, and Stewart, who is alleged to have been the driver of the other car.
Dr Pellinen, who had been married before, and Melody Baugh met in England about four years ago and they got married in Finland in August 2003.

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