The sister of murdered Bermudian Garrow Lightbourn Jnr. said yesterday his family forgave the cousin accused of gunning him down and did not want to see him go to jail.

Trina Lightbourn spoke to the Pottstown Mercury newspaper outside the courthouse in Pennsylvania where Cornell R. (Henny) Shawell appeared charged with first and third degree murder.

The 28-year-old is also accused of possessing an instrument of crime and flight to avoid apprehension and was remanded in custody yesterday pending trial.

Father-of-two Mr. Lightbourn, known as Trevor, was fatally shot in the chest at a low-income housing complex in Pottstown, a small community about 35 miles from Philadelphia, on January 27 just weeks after the birth of his daughter.

The 26-year-old, whose nickname was Little Boy, was born in the US but grew up in Bermuda, attending Elliott Primary School, Whitney Institute and CedarBridge Academy. He is understood to have been buried on the Island.

His sister told the Pottstown Mercury that his family wanted to see Shawell rehabilitated rather than sent to prison. "It was a sad event to happen," she said of the killing, adding that Shawell "was upset at the time" and overreacted but "you can't turn back the hands of time".

She said: ""We forgive (Shawell) and I just hope that God does the same."

Kevin Steele, First Assistant District Attorney for Montgomery County, told The Royal Gazette that the purpose of yesterday's hearing was to determine whether there was enough evidence to hold the charges over to the trial court.

"The judge found we presented enough evidence to hold all the charges," he said, adding that the case would now be assigned to another judge for county court trial.

Shawell, of Chestnut Street, Pottstown, sat in court silently yesterday, with his wrists in handcuffs and his ankles shackled. His lawyer Gabriel Levin waived his right to have the charges read to him at the district court.

He allegedly fired a .38-calibre revolver at his cousin, before fleeing the scene. He later allegedly confessed to police and claimed the disagreement between him and Lightbourn had been a year long.

Assistant District Attorney Jesse King told the Pottstown Mercury it was a straightforward case. "The Commonwealth has made no deals at this point as to the eventual outcome of this case," he said.

Mr. Levin said he and his client were working with the District Attorney's office. He said that once all the evidence in the case was presented, speaking specifically to when the victim was shot, it would be clearer that Shawell was not guilty of first-degree murder but had acted in self defence.

The defendant was also arraigned on drug possession charges yesterday.

This report was compiled with the assistance of Brandie Kessler of the Pottstown Mercury.