Caretaker given two life sentences for killing Winnipeg couple at their Jamaican home in 2018

WINNIPEG -

The man who pleaded guilty to the murders of a Canadian couple found dead in their Jamaican home has been handed two life sentences in the killings.

On Thursday in Jamaica, Fabian Skervin was handed two terms of life in prison to be served concurrently with no chance of parole for 32 years and four months, his lead attorney Anthony Williams told CTV News.

In July, Skervin had pleaded guilty to the murders of 81-year-old Melbourne Flake and 70-year-old Etta Flake. The married couple had immigrated to Canada from Jamaica and had lived in Winnipeg for 53 years. They were found dead inside their St. Thomas vacation home in January 2018.

"It's important that people know that sometimes justice does get served, and in this case, Skervin is spending what's probably going to be the rest of his life in prison," Debbie Lee Olfert, the daughter of the couple, told CTV News in an interview from St. Thomas.

Olfert said she flew down to Jamaica from her home in Vancouver for the sentencing, which she said brought some form of closure to her.

"I've waited over three years for some modicum of justice," she said. "I'm just grateful that somebody is being held responsible."

Williams told CTV News that Skervin—a 29-year-old farmer—had worked as the caretaker for Melbourne and Etta.

CTV News has previously reported the couple had been killed during a home burglary. Their bodies were found by construction workers.

Williams said the court gave Skervin a discount on his sentence because he pleaded guilty to the murders.

"He asked me to convey to the court that he was sorry, he has expressed remorse," Williams said.

"The fact of the matter is, it does not detract or take away the very fact that two lives have been lost."

On Friday, the Jamaica court also dismissed the charges against Nekia Thompson – a woman co-accused with Skervin in the murders, Thompson's lawyer Hensley Williams told CTV News.

Williams said Thompson had previously pleaded not guilty to two counts and an indictment for murder. He said the charges were dismissed Friday, as the court found no admissible evidence to proceed with the case against Thompson.