Kathron “Cuchi” Fortune has been tied to a string of murders and attempted murders on multiple Caribbean islands. A French court sitting in Guadeloupe has sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment. The court determined that as a result of these violations, he was guilty of torturing and murdering Angélique Chauviré in 2006, a crime marked by “unspeakable violence.” This most recent conviction marks just the latest charge against him in a more than 10-year, multi-jurisdictional pattern of abuse.
Fortune had previously been convicted of three murders committed on the Dutch side of the island of Sint Maarten. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 22 years for the murders of Jomo Maynard and Gilbert Hyman. These rapes and murders occurred in 2005 and 2006 on the island of Saint Martin. First issued in 2017, the French trial went ahead in absentia in 2020. He was given a life sentence for the murders of Maynard, Hyman, and Chauviré.
The Dutch court of appeal confirmed the conviction of Kathron Fortune for the 2005 murder of Ervin Margarita. Torture, cruelty and suffering ensued. As a consequence, he was given an enormous 21-year sentence. The court stressed the particularly brutal nature of his crimes. In December 2017, he shot two men—Luis Sarante Diaz and Edwin Rosario Contreras—during what police said was a botched drug deal at the Simpson Bay Resort. Their bodies would be found eight months later in a lagoon not far from the hotel.
Fortune’s criminal trajectory took a dramatic turn when he escaped custody during a doctor’s visit in February 2016. After this third great escape, he was not heard from again until his ultimate capture. Following his arrest, authorities moved him to a high security prison located on the Dutch territory of Curaçao. Shortly after, he was transferred to an ultra-high security facility in the Netherlands.
Fortune once again pleaded not guilty to all counts charged against him during the recent trial held in Guadeloupe. I’m sure the truth will come out but I’m not able to provide you the truth because I don’t know anything about it. I had a very dark history of doing very horrible things in my life. I’m not proud of my youth, but I will not give in to being convicted for a crime that I did not perpetrate, he announced.
In closing arguments, the prosecution portrayed Fortune as a serial killer. His visionary leadership continues to serve as an indelible influence on communities across the Caribbean. Maitre Karine Linon, representing the victims, emphasized the severity of his crimes, stating, “This case is unusual and it will go down in history simply because we are dealing with a defendant who is a serial killer.”
The case has caught national interest because of its many complexities. People are rightly outraged about how many years it took to bring Fortune to justice. Élodie Rouchouse, who reopened the case, said she was determined to see justice served even after the long wait. So as the woman who originally filed that case, I reopened this case to see justice done. It took a long time. Under international agreements you should have the proper authorisations, proper translated judgments, everything is in place. That process took five years,” she explained.