THIS afternoon a Demerara Assize jury trying the Windsor Forest stepfather murder conspiracy case will retire to consider whether the three accused are guilty or not of conspiring to kill their stepfather Motilall Singh.

Prosecutrix Ms Mercedes Thompson and Ms Natasha Backer yesterday asked the jury to return a verdict in accordance with the evidence led and the oath they had taken.
On the other hand, Senior Counsel Mr. Bernard De Santos defending Biby Shamiza Khan, called ‘Sham’, Hoosman Khan, also called ‘Strong Man’, and Bibi Farida Khan, called ‘Pum’, against the alleged murder of their stepfather Motilall Singh on 7th September, 2009, have requested a not guilty verdict on behalf of his clients.
Mr. De Santos has also asked the jury to find that there is doubt in the prosecution’s case and the accused could be given the benefit of the doubt.
He exhorted them to disbelieve the prosecution’s case which stated that the three accused carried out a plot by their mother in the USA who sent them over US$700 to hire a killer to murder her husband Motilall Singh who was on a visit to Guyana.
The plot, it is said, was carried out.
Counsel also asked the jury to believe the defence that they did not make any confession statement as alleged by the police but the police took advantage of their ill condition from diabetes and not being able to read and write, handed them a paper to sign and they did not realize that they were signing to an alleged confession.
According to the prosecution, on the early morning of September 7, 2009, Motilall was attacked and murdered.
The doctor who performed the post-mortem recorded that he found 20 stab wounds on the body of the deceased. He concluded that death was caused by shock and haemorrhage due to multiple stab wounds.
Replying to the defence claim that the deceased was attacked by masked bandits, the prosecution said that the nail to that lie was the fact that the gold rings still decorated the fingers of the murdered man; something robbers would not have left behind.
Prosecutrix Thompson also told the jury that they had overwhelming evidence that they could use to come to a verdict of guilty.
Justice Dawn Gregory will this morning begin her summation to the jury and then she would hand over the case to them for their consideration and verdict.

(By George Barclay)