WHEN the murder trial of Vinod Balgobin continued yesterday at the Demerara Assizes, Police Corporal Herbert Henry told the judge and jury that the murder accused had confessed to “jooking-up” his wife Maryann Sunita Nauth for giving him ‘blow’(infidelity).Police investigations that followed the discovery of her body in Room 209 of the K&VC International Hotel on South Road, Georgetown, in 2013 led to the arrest of the accused who at the time was living separately from his wife.

And Corporal Henry, the man he told the story to in a Caution Statement related how Balgobin dramatised how he was drinking with friends at the Demico Roof Garden.
Balgobin told him that he phoned his wife and asked her to join him and after leaving there he went to another Bar and finally ended up at the hotel.
But according to Henry who was giving a blow by blow account of the occurrences, as told to him by the accused, Marryann had got no further than stripping, when he observed that she had a tattoo on her belly.
The sight of the tattoo sparked off a quarrel with claims by Balgobin that his wife was giving him ‘blow’. Therefore he resorted to his knife and ‘jooked’ her several times.
The partly nude woman was found dead in bed with a knife blade in the chest.
In court Balgobin denied telling the police corporal that type of story which according to defence lawyer, Mr. Compton Richardson, was a fabrication, that led to the mother of the accused being arrested and detained in custody for sometime.
However, Justice Franklyn Holder decided to hold a voir dire to decide the admissibility of the statement and ruled that it was freely and voluntarily given by Balgobin. The statement was then admitted into evidence and Corporal Henry was able to tell the story.
In his statement to the police, Vinod Balgobin had said that after being cautioned, he said “I call ma wife and tell she come and catch me at Demico. Maryann came and catch me at Demico. We went up at Roof Garden and we drank two, two beers each, reach ma old time girl friend. Me and Maryann went at Seetar Bar, we drank four Stag and we decided to go to VC hotel. I paid $3,000 for the room and we went into de room. When Maryann tek off she clothes I see a tattoo across she belly and we started to argue. Ah tell she that she giving me blow and she started to curse me up and I get vex. I pull out the knife from my haversack and I start to jook she up and I got cut upon my left hand.
“ I left and went home and I tell ma mother what happen and I went upstairs in meh room. I left and went to Parika and the police catch me at Supenaam.”
When the trial resumes today Corporal Henry will be further cross-examined.
Miss Orinthia Schmidt is prosecuting in association with Mrs. Teshana Lake and Miss Shawnette Austin.
(By George Barclay)