THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 18, 1995 TAG: 9505180696
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
A judge Wednesday set bail at $15,000 for man who confessed to first-degree murder after he allegedly broke into a woman's home and stabbed her more than a dozen times with at least three kitchen knives.
That means the suspect, 29-year-old Haitian native Schubert Hilaire, may need as little as 10 percent - or $1,500 - to go free pending trial. As of Wednesday afternoon, Hilaire was still in jail.
Hilaire, who briefly dated the victim, switched knives because he kept breaking the blades in her body, police said.
The unusually low bond set by General District Judge Robert L. Simpson angered the victim's friends and family, especially her father, a retired police lieutenant in New Orleans.
``I come from the murder capital of the United States,'' Frank Ben said, referring to New Orleans.
Ben, reached by phone, was the father of the victim, 32-year-old Waynette C. Richelieu. ``I thought my child would be safe up there, but she gets murdered and, on top of it all, you have a bleeding-heart liberal judge saying it's not that bad. Only $15,000? I am incensed. My wife is incensed.''
Prosecutors argued that the suspect should remain in jail without bond, said Lee-Hope Thrasher, director of the Victim-Witness Division of the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
It is unclear how long Hilaire has been in the United States. He listed an address in the Rock Creek section of Virginia Beach when he was arrested.
People who know Hilaire said he has worked a string of odd jobs in restaurants, retail and delivery. He apparently met Richelieu when they worked in a Chesapeake department store.
``I will say Judge Simpson in the past has been sensitive to our requests and recommendations,'' Thrasher said. ``But this, from the family's perspective and from our perspective as the people who deal with the family - this is a very difficult thing for anyone to understand.''
Several of Richelieu's friends also couldn't understand.
``I just couldn't believe it; tears came to my eyes,'' said Thania Sims, 30, who said she was among Richelieu's best friends. ``He kills her, and can be set free and live his life until the trial date? It's so unfair. I don't know what is wrong with the justice system.''
Police said they fear the suspect could flee to his native Port-au-Prince. If that happens, investigators said, it would be almost impossible to bring him back for trial.
Judge Simpson did not respond to a message seeking comment.
According to police, this is what happened April 12:
At 11 a.m., Hilaire drove from Richelieu's Green Run apartment to police headquarters on Princess Anne Road, and parked in a police-only lot. There, he tried to confess to a forensic technician who was returning from court, but she summoned a uniformed officer.
The officer took Hilaire into the detective bureau, where Hilaire told investigators he had stabbed a woman in a second-floor apartment.
Officers who went to the apartment found Richelieu's body. The front door had been forced open.
At police headquarters, a blood-covered Hilaire was charged with first-degree murder and burglary with the intent to commit murder.
``I have nothing but praise for the victim-witness program and the police department up there,'' the victim's father said. ``They have done their job. But then, when it gets over to the other section of the system, it's suddenly screwed up.'' by CNB