This article first appeared on Barbados Free Press on February 17, 2010 – the day that the Bajan news media originally said Curtis Joel Foster would be sentenced. That February 17th court appearance was postponed until Monday, March 22, 2010 – when again we are told that Foster will be sentenced.
Murdered Canadian tourist Terry Schwarzfeld
Curtis Joel Foster will be sentenced on Monday, March 22, 2010, for the “manslaughter” of Canadian tourist Terry Schwarzfeld who was walking at Long Beach at the south coast on February 28, 2009 with her daughter-in-law when Foster attacked and robbed them in broad daylight. When the women fled, Foster pursued and used a piece of wood to club them. Mrs. Schwarzfeld never recovered from her head injuries and died in Canada after she was flown back in a coma.
Most people see the event as a murder, but the lawyers and Public Prosecutor let Foster plead to a lesser charge of “manslaughter”. The Canadian news media reported that the victim’s family weren’t even notified of the plea deal or the plea. They heard the news on the radio – so said the Canadian news media back in January.
On March 26, 2009, Foster received only a two year sentence for a string of five tourist robberies that occurred at Long Beach in the year prior to the Schwarzfeld attack. These events involved visitors from the UK and Belgium. He is also charged with the rape of a German tourist at the same location in July of 2008 but we don’t know if he pleaded in that case.
Barbados Police Commissioner Dottin. Long Beach was a robbery and rape “hot spot”, but we Bajans and the tourists were never warned.
Barbados Police acknowledged that they failed to note the long series of violent offenses at Long Beach in the year prior to Schwarzfeld’s death and failed to alert the public or take pro-active measures to prevent further attacks or arrest the attacker.
It turns out that the Commissioner of Police failed to appoint staff to record and analyze crime types and locations to note “hot spots” so that sufficient police resources could be assigned to protect the public or to arrest Curtis Joel Foster and stop his reign of terror. It took the murder of a tourist before anyone paid attention, and even then the police, the government and the Bajan news media initially went into their standard “cover-up” mode that happens when a tourist is attacked. (See BFP’s article Ottawa Citizen Newspaper, National Canadian Coverage: “Bajan Media Ignores Attack On Women. Feisty Barbados Free Press Only Outlet To Speak Out For Schwarzfeld”)
So we’ll see what sentence Foster receives for the murder manslaughter.
Here’s hoping he rots in jail until he draws his final breath. Then toss his body out for the crabs at Long Beach or Mount Stinkeroo. He’s not worth the trouble of a grave.
If you think that’s too harsh, maybe you should ask the Schwarzfeld family or the German rape victim how they feel about it.
Further Reading
BFP, January 21, 2010: Guilty plea in killing of Canadian tourist Terry Schwarzfeld raises official hopes that the story will now go away
BFP, August 30, 2009: Murdered Canadian Tourist Terry Schwarzfeld Called “White Trash” – Senior Advisor to Barbados Prime Minister Publishes Articles on Same Racist Website!
Barbados Free Press 
’10 years for killing visitor’
Sometimes people have to speak out and if that means there are consequences, then so-be-it.
Curtis Joel Foster had already been convicted of 8 robberies including 5 on visitors. We know that at least two of these involved extreme violence because my wife personally treated two of the victims.
Mitigating arguments by the defence lawyer included ‘The court does accept that there was no use of a firearm’, but that is NOT true according to
a victim impact statement issued by the husband of the murdered Teresa Schwarzfeld, Stephen Cotsman and printed in the Ottawa Citizen on 22 March and other Canwest publications across Canada.
He stated ‘we understand that he (Foster) has not admitted to what really occured and this adds to our family’s pain. Luana Cotsman is a survivor of the attack and knows exactly what happened’.
‘First, Foster accosted them with a gun and demanded money’.
‘Then, when they truthfully told him that they did not have any (money), he ran back to the bushes and retrieved a big piece of wood (the size of a baseball bat) and chased them as they ran for safety. He caught up with Terry and hit her on the back of the head – so hard that he fractured her skull. Terry never woke up again’.
And what of the rape charge?
One has to ask if the sentence matches the crimes committed and what sort of message is Barbados sending over its concerns for the safety and security of visitors to our shores?
Our deepest sympathies go out to the grieving family with the assurance that some of us do not consider the sentence passed anywhere close to being applicable to the severity of the crimes committed.
Adrian, I think he should have received indefinite detention due to the fact that he has a low IQ, is a habitual drug abuser and an avowed homosexual, and just by the fact that he would tell a court that he is of such persuasion is cause to speculate that he is metal, and needs help.
I understand how the family of the victim feels, but Mr. Foster has serious mental issues and I think the judge acted accordingly in this instance. I hope Mr. Foster can get some help whilst in prison. BTW the sentencing here is similar to what he would have received say in the USA, Canada, Mexico or UK.