January saw the long-awaited verdict that brought justice for Chavelle Dillon-Burgess as Kamal Worrell was found guilty of her murder.

A Supreme Court jury, after deliberating into the night, determined that the former lawyer murdered the mother of his child on an unknown date between April 10 and June 11, 2020.

After he was found guilty of murder and seven charges of common assault in what was dubbed “Trial of the Century”, Worrell lowered his head and the courtroom remained silent.

His request for bail was denied, and in March he would be sentenced to a minimum 27 years in prison.

The case began in 2020 as a missing-person report before a police investigation led to a murder inquiry.

Once the trial began in November 2023, the Supreme Court heard that Ms Dillon-Burgess had accused Worrell of assault in relation to incidents in 2018 and 2019, but that she later withdrew the allegations.

Ms Dillon-Burgess was reported missing by her family on April 30, 2020 and despite an island-wide search, her body was never found.

Worrell told the court that she had left their home after an argument on April 11, 2020, that she returned to collect items on April 16, and that he had not seen her since that date.

Witnesses testified that Ms Dillon-Burgess would never have abandoned her child and said the relationship between her and Worrell was argumentative and sometimes violent.

Prosecutors highlighted that Worrell had failed to tell police he had seen her on April 16 and that he was hesitant to take part in searches for her body. Worrell said he did not take part in the searches through fear for his safety, alleging that threats had been made against him via social media.

Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said that while the case was built on circumstantial evidence, the jury could feel sure of Worrell’s guilt.

She suggested that Worrell thought Ms Dillon-Burgess was ruining his career by pressing criminal charges against him.

Ms Clarke said: “She was ruining his life. He really couldn’t move on. He wasn’t living the life he felt a lawyer should be living,” she added. “He’s not bringing money into the house. She was the provider.”

Ms Clarke noted that when the offence allegedly took place, movement was restricted because of Covid-19 regulations, and she urged jurors to consider Worrell’s actions before, during and after Ms Dillon-Burgess’s disappearance.

She added that Ms Dillon-Burgess’s accounts of assault at the hands of Worrell were consistent when relayed to family, friends and her doctor, and changed only when in court with the defendant present.

Worrell responded that the prosecution’s case was built on speculation and argued that police failed to look into several potential leads.

January also saw the opening of the Osagi Bascome trial.

Raheem Wray denied a charge that he murdered the 23-year-old Bermuda footballer in an incident in St David’s on December 18, 2021.

The prosecution said that Mr Bascome was killed senselessly in a fight outside Fun Zone in Southside.

“Following what appeared to be a verbal argument between the defendant and the deceased, the defendant would have stabbed the defendant and then left the scene,” prosecutor Kael London said.

“The deceased was rushed to the hospital, but despite medical intervention, he succumbed to his injuries.”

Later in the month, Mr Wray was found not guilty.

Towards the end of January, police said they had no further suspects for the killing.

However, Acting Detective Chief Inspector Derricka Burns, of the Serious Crime Unit, said that the Bermuda Police Service encouraged anyone who may have additional information to come forward.

Also in January, Marc Bean, a former leader of the Progressive Labour Party, announced that the Free Democratic Movement would return to the political fray.

Mr Bean, the FDM’s founder, told The Daily Hour broadcast talk show that he had courted members of the PLP and One Bermuda Alliance who were “sick and tired” of the race-based status quo in Bermuda politics.

He added that the FDM stood to appeal to “the large middle ground of swing voters”.

Mr Bean had previously said that the PLP’s leadership used “sleight of hand” as a distraction from real issues, while the party had strayed from the core tenets of its founders.

“Unless there is a change of course, then it’s going to be extremely detrimental,” he said.

Chaos reigned at the Fairmont Southampton as a giveaway was called off at the last minute.

Hundreds turned up to collect free furniture and appliances being dished out, but left empty-handed as the event was deemed to be unsafe.

At one point, members of the public surged forward towards the entrance.

“This is not safe for anyone, so we’re not doing it,” a security guard announced after staff called a meeting inside.