A Pembroke man was charged with murder yesterday in Magistrates' Court following the mysterious death of a vagrant on the weekend.

Voorhees Trott of Two-Way Lane, Deepdale, Pembroke, is accused of killing Harry Palmer, a 47-year-old homeless man.

Mr. Palmer died in hospital on Sunday, six days after he was found lying, unconscious, on a Hamilton street.

Trott, 42, appeared before Magistrate Edward King without legal representation to hear the charges against him.

He was not required to enter a plea, however, as murder charges are dealt with in Supreme Court.

An unknown taxi driver alerted Police on June 3 that the victim was lying on the ground across from the Leopard's Club on Cedar Avenue.

The unconscious Mr. Palmer was rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was found to have life-threatening, internal wounds. He never regained consciousness.

In the morning plea court session yesterday, Mr. King told Trott he was charged with the murder in relation to the death of Mr. Palmer on June 9 (Sunday) in Pembroke Parish.

“On June 9, I was in jail,” Trott replied. Mr. King cautioned Trott not to comment at this stage in the legal proceedings.

“I don't know if this happened in prison,” Mr. King said. He also urged Trott to retain a lawyer as soon as possible.

“This is the most serious charge in the land, therefore you ought to be represented by counsel,” Mr. King said. “If you cannot afford one on your own or with the help of your mother or your family, you must make an application, while on remand in prison, for legal aid.”

Mr. King said Trott should not return to court and claim he had not been made aware of the need to retain counsel.

“Tell the prison officer, if you can't afford a lawyer, ‘I need to fill out an application for legal aid', and the sooner you do it, the better,” said Mr. King.

Crown counsel Juan Wolffe asked that Trott be brought back to Magistrates' Court in two weeks and Mr. King remanded him to custody until that time.

Meanwhile, Police are asking that the driver of the taxi who originally reported the incident contact the Serious Crimes Unit as soon as possible.

Officers are also appealing for witnesses who may have been in the area of Beacon Street and Cedar Avenue between 11 p.m. on June 2 and 5 a.m. on June 3 to come forward.

Anyone with information with regards to Mr. Palmer's movements can contact Det. Sgt. Jerome Laws or Det. Con. Rosheen Albuoy at 295-0011 or call the CrimeStoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.