… for 2012 murder of US citizen home on vacation

JUSTICE Sandil Kissoon on Thursday imposed the death penalty on Hemwattie Abdulla, 42, of Ozone Park, Queens, New York, and Surojni Permaul, 48, Belvedere Settlement, Corentyne.

The judge handed down the ruling at the Berbice Assizes on Thursday afternoon, after noting that the killing of Abdool Shakeel Majid was well planned, and not a spur-of-the-moment thing.

Majid and Abdulla, his wife of four months, arrived in Guyana on April 22, 2012 with the intention of spending a two-week vacation.
Five days later, however, his battered, lifeless body, minus the scalp, was found on a popular Corentyne beach, while his wife, who has been named the Number One accused, boarded a plane and headed back to their Queens home.
In rehashing the evidence, the judge noted that the course of conduct involved cross- border communication between the two convicted women, whose single objective was to bring death to the victim.

He said, “The Number One accused was not willing to contemplate such conduct in her adoptive place, in the United States of America, but instead involved the Number Two accused, her neighbour from Belvedere Village, Corentyne, whose purpose was to kill the deceased.”

Continuing with his summation, Justice Kissoon said: “Abdulla entrusted US$5000 to Permaul, who gave [it to] Pooran Jaundoo, her son-in-law, who is the husband of Urmilla Devi Persaud. The deceased, at the end of the day, was taken to [the] Number 63 Beach, where he was murdered.”

Quoting a saying made popular back in the days, Justice Kissoon said, “But for a few pieces of silver, which in this case was US$5,000, Permaul permitted herself and family to be used as instruments.

“In addition, this Court had been privileged to evidence, which was not permitted before the jury because of the objections of Defence Counsel. However, it must be noted that Urmilla Devi Persaud, the daughter of the Number Two accused, was found to be in possession of the wedding ring belonging to the now dead man.

“Further, the victim was involved in an accident in the USA, and may or may not have received a financial award. We can only speculate if that was the reason for his killing.”
Preparatory to making his decision known, Justice Kissoon said it is the mandate of the court to impose a sentence which will reflect a civilised society, even as he signalled to the Court Marshal who recited the death penalty.

Early into the trial, the court heard through Probation Officer Judith Vankennie that the Number One accused, the mother of six, had met the deceased while living and working in the US.

He was a cab driver and she was a nurse aide at a nursing home; that after they’d struck up a friendship, she left her husband of many years to live with the deceased, with whom she claimed to have had a happier relationship, the court was told.