THE former reputed wife of murder accused Abishai Caesar, took to the witness stand on Wednesday, September 18, 2019, before Justice Brassington Reynolds and a mixed 12-member jury at the High Court and gave evidence against her ex-lover.
Zoey Phillips testified in the trial of 34-year-old Caesar, a former barber of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo.

Caesar denied the charges which stated that, between September 21, 2012, and September 22, 2012, at Sea View Anna Catherina, he murdered 41-year-old Jennifer Persaud, called “Jenny”, and her sons Afridi Bacchus, six, and Jadon Ernest, 18 months.
Phillips told the court that, during September 2012, she lived in Anna Catherina with her reputed husband Caesar. She was 17 years old at the time
Under oath, the witness told the court that she first met Caesar when she was 15 years old and he was 25 years old at the time.

The witness recalled that Jennifer Persaud was her neighbour and operated a liquor shop. According to the witness, she last saw Persaud alive on September 21, 2012, and she was looking “healthy.”

Phillips told the court that it was night and she came outside to her verandah because she heard a noise, and, when she looked, she saw her neighbour’s shop locked.
However, the woman said that she came back into her bedroom where Caesar was.
“Abishai said to me that he was going over to Jenny to get some money because he was broke,” Phillips said as she recalled that it was then midnight.

The couple then went into the lower flat of their home, into the kitchen, where Caesar armed himself with a wood-handle knife, a pair of green gloves, while being clad in a 3/4 pants.

The witness said that Caesar went to the back of their house and gained entry into their neighbour’s yard through an opening in the zinc fence.

Phillips told the court that her neighbour had clear glass windows and she was able to see Caesar in the woman’s home by peeping through the louvre window in her bedroom.
After seeing Caesar as he went up the step in Persaud’s home, Phillips claimed that she went to bed and fell asleep.

However, she was awakened by the sound of a woman screaming and sat in her bed. Thirty minutes later, Caesar called for her, and she went downstairs into the kitchen and opened the back door for him.

According to Phillips, Caesar had a small cardboard beer box in his hands, and told her that that was all he got from raiding Jennifer’s home.

The box contained a number of $20 and $100 bills which amounted to $3,000. He also came back with the pair of gloves and a knife, both of which had what appeared to be blood. There was also what appeared to be spots of blood on his pair of pants.

The witness disclosed that her reputed husband told her that Jennifer awoke and saw him inside of the home and he killed her because she saw his face and knew him well.
Caesar, Phillips explained, told her that, while he was stabbing Jennifer, the older son woke and saw him. This caused him to kill the older son plus the baby.

The couple then went to the sea walls, where Caesar threw the knife into the river. Then they went into the street and Caesar threw the gloves and pants into some bushes.
The witness explained that they went back home and into bed where they slept.
On April 2016, the couple was living at Tuschen with their 2-year-old daughter. On April 23, 2019, Phillips told the court that she went to report a matter against Caesar and to get a restraining order.

He was arrested the following day and she went to the Leonora Police Station where a confrontation was held between them and the police.
During the confrontation, Phillips said that she told him that he killed Jennifer and her two kids, which he denied to the police.

The witness explained that she only told the court because she was afraid of Caesar because he was abusive.

The trial continues on Thursday, September 19, 2019
The state is represented by Prosecutors Seeta Bishundial and Lisa Cave, while Caesar is represented by Attorney-at-law Maxwell McKay.