At Berbice Assizes…
JUSTICE Brassington Reynolds yesterday, at the Berbice Assizes, deferred, to today, his ruling on the voir dire (trial within a trial) in the headless body murder case.
Instead, he requested that lawyers for the Prosecution and Defence research additional cases in support of their respective arguments.
The judge was to rule yesterday afternoon but he said there were certain points that needed clarification and, consequently, he took the adjournment after listening to additional submissions by State Prosecutor Dionne Mc Cammon and Defence Counsel Mursulene Bacchus and Kim Kyte-John.
The smaller trial began two weeks ago after the Defence objected to the admissibility of a statement attributed to the accused, Danny Busjit, citing threats and promises held out by persons in authority to secure the signature of the latter.
According to Defence Counsel, the attestation was not given freely and voluntarily and they took objection to it during the testimony of Detective Assistant Superintendent of Police Gary Mc Allister, who said the accused elected to make the written deposition.
Earlier, Mc Allister, led through evidence-in-chief by Mc Cammon, told the Court that, after contacting Busjit at Mibicuri Police Station, in Black Busk Polder, Corentyne, he put the allegation, under caution, to the man in the dock and he offered to tell what happened.
The indictment against Busjit said he unlawfully killed American citizen Kalidas Surjnarine, 74, whose nude body, minus the head, was found in his Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder yard on November 26, 2004.