PORT MARIA, St Mary — Devon Williams, who is charged with the murder of three-year-old Asher Campbell in Pagee in the parish on May 29, has told the court that he is prepared to represent himself in his trial.

Williams, a 33-year-old labour of Pagee, was without legal representation when he appeared in the St Mary Parish Court on Tuesday to answer to charges of murder and wounding with intent.

When the matter was called up Parish Judge Nicole Kellier asked the investigating officer if Williams had any legal representation.

In response, the police officer told the judge that Williams had did not have a lawyers as yet but his father was working on it.

The judge also asked if there was any family member present in court for the accused, to which the investigating officer replied no.

He said he had been trying to reach Williams’ father without success.

“Your Honour, normally when I call the father and don’t get him he would return the call,” said the investigating officer.

“I don’t mind representing myself,” Williams later told the court. When questioned by the judge as to why he would chose to do so, Williams replied that the truth shall set him free.

Williams is accused of killing Asher and injuring six other people in an unprovoked attack on the afternoon of May 29.

His father Phillip Reddix has claimed that Williams returned to Jamaica recently from the United States, where his mother lives, displaying signs of mental illness.

According to he Reddix, his son was fine until he was stabbed in the US and, “It look like from there things don’t go right with him”.

Reddix said while his son was on medication after the incident, he showed no signs of mental disorder.

He said when Williams arrived in Jamaica his mother called to say their son had forgotten his medication and she would be sending them to him. Up to the time of the attack that left the child dead, the medication had not arrived.

In court on Tuesday, the judge queried if Williams had received any psychiatric treatment, to which the investigating officer replied that he was taken to the Annotto Bay Hospital where an evaluation was done.

The judge then requested the evaluation report but the investigating officer said it was at the Islington Police Station where Williams is being held. Kellier then remanded Williams into police custody and ordered that he appear before the court again today.

She also ordered that his father, or a another relative, should be present at the next court sitting.

On hearing the judge’s declaration, Williams asked if she will be the one to judge him on Thursday.

When the judge answered in the affirmative Williams told the court that he needed a phone call as he would like to make contact with United States authorities as he has another court matter there.“I need to call them so that they know I am not being neglectful of my court date,” said Williams.At that time the judge questioned if Williams is an American citizen.

While the the investigating officer did not say if Williams has citizenship in America, he told the court that personnel from the American consulate visited him while he was in custody at the police lock-up.

This prompted the judge to declare that there is a need for speedy evaluation of Williams, so that he can be housed elsewhere. According to the Port Maria police, between 3:30 and 4:00 pm on May 29, little Asher was walking with family members in Pagee when he was attacked by Williams wielding an iron pipe and a knife.

As the family members tried to stop the attack, the boy’s mother and five others were chopped and hit on different parts of their bodies.

The injured include Asher’s nine-year-old sister, who received a wound to her left hand; his mother, 45-year-old Phillipa Walker, who received an injury to her right hand; 58-year-old Phillip Brown, who received stab wounds to his face and lacerations to both hands; 61-year-old Michael Brown, who was hit in his head and on his fingers; and 56-year-old David “Choppa John” Waugh, who is a newspaper vendor and labourer.