LIVERPOOL Village resident Ronald Fraser, who is accused of fatally stabbing fellow Corentyne villager, Quacy Gray, on December 16, 2011 on Wednesday, walked out of the Berbice High Court a free man.

Much to his relief, a mixed jury returned a unanimous verdict of not-guilty after deliberating for just under an hour following the presentation of a case summary by Justice James Bovell-Drakes.

Earlier, the judge, warning the jury, said, “You cannot; you should not come to any conclusion that a pair of scissors that was seen by a policeman had any connection with the case. It is the duty of the State to have preserved the exhibit so that the jury could have satisfied its mind.”

“Do not speculate,” he urged, adding: “You can only come to a conclusion on the facts presented… You cannot fill holes created in the State’s case by persons who failed in fulfilling their responsibility.”

State Prosecutrix, Orintha Schimdt, presented the case which was based on the caution statement attributed to the accused that was taken by now retired Detective Corporal Andrew Warde.

The attestation, which was admitted into evidence, records Fraser as saying on December 16, 2011: “I had gone to a Mr. Godfrey shop in the village, where I bought a bottle of Guinness stout. After leaving the business place, I was walking along the dam when I was attacked and cuffed by the now deceased Quacy Gray.”

The accused in the statement continued: “What happen? Why are you cuffing me,” he questioned. “We ain’t got no scene… I ran away but he followed and attacked and started to cuff me again. Me had a black handle scissors in my back pocket. Me tek out the scissors and fire a juck to defend myself.  Me hear Quacy dead. I dropped the scissors and ran away.”

However, in his unsworn statement from the dock, Fraser told the judge and jury that he lived at Liverpool Village and worked at Nand Persaud Company.
On December 16, 2011, he had gone to Godfrey shop where he bought a bottle of water.

ATTACKED
“After leaving the shop, I looked and saw the now deceased, who had asked me why I was looking at him. I told him we are friends, but he said we were not, as I took settlement from his uncle. Quacy said me and you got problems tonight. He came towards me. He pushed me. I told him me and he ain’t got no problem. I left and he came behind me. I asked him why he was following me. He said ‘you gon dead’ because you took settlement, and he wanted back his money as he had given his uncle the money to settle the story [a wounding case]. I told him the matter already finish in the court and that we do not have any problems.

“However, Quacy went into his pocket and pulled out a flip blade knife and threatened to kill me. I remembered that I had my working tools, including a pair of scissors in my pocket. But I did not want no violence. He said he would send me to my father. I told him my father was dead and that he will have to kill me to send me to my father. He then attack me with the knife and I took out my working scissors just to scare him and he ran into the scissors,” Fraser said.

Meanwhile, the judge observed that it was the deceased who was the aggressor as he had a knife and had threatened to use the knife. It was noted that it was the deceased who had told the accused that he would go with his deceased father, which was an expression of intention to kill.

The State had presented five witnessed, including Dr Vivikanand Brijmohan, who gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage, due to a stab wound to the heart.

Ronald Fraser was represented by Attorney Sasha Roberts