More than a year after a Lower Ottos man was charged in connection with the country’s first homicide of 2025, his case has yet to move beyond the preliminary stages, with the file still sitting in the Director of Public Prosecutions‘ office.

Deon Lloyd, 43, appeared in court this week only for prosecutors to confirm what has become a familiar refrain — the case file remains with the DPP. The case was adjourned once again, this time to June 26.

Deon Lloyd after Boggy Peak altercation

Lloyd stands accused of murdering Javorn Williams, a 35-year-old Old Road resident, on January 2, 2025, in what prosecutors say was a fatal shooting that occurred during a confrontation between the two men at Boggy Peak. Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. Lloyd himself did not walk away unscathed — he was later apprehended by police while seeking treatment for injuries at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre.

He made his first court appearance before Chief Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel in January of last year, arriving with his right arm in a cast and leaving in custody, remanded to His Majesty’s Prison. The file has reportedly been with the DPP’s office since July of that same year — nearly nine months before this week’s adjournment — raising questions about the pace at which the matter is being prepared for prosecution.

The repeated delays mean Lloyd has remained on remand while the machinery of the justice system moves slowly around his case. He is represented by attorney Wendel Alexander.