Defence making no-case submissions
ALTHOUGH  Presiding Judge William Ramlal, in the West Ruimveldt Front Road murder trial, accepted a prosecution’s  submission that the deceased Abigale Gittens had made a ‘dying declaration’ to her mother, the defence is asking the jury to find that because of the nature of the injuries, the injured woman was not competent to speak or make a ‘dying declaration’. The defence, represented by Mr. Hukumchand, is also objecting to the prosecution tendering in evidence, under Section  95 , the depositions of an eye witness who has migrated to Suriname after testifying at the preliminary inquiry.
The Prosecution, represented by Miss Rhondel Weaver and Miss Shivani Balcharan, is alleging that 16-year old Abigale Gittens, who had a sexual relationship with the accused, Paul Bagot, called Paul Moore, was in the vicinity of the West Front Road on the night of September 29, 2004, when she was allegedly knocked down by a motor cycle, then picked up and stabbed about  the body by the rider.
The girl later died  at the Georgetown Hospital but not till after she had given a Dying declaration to her mother explaining  that she could not make it and that she was  going to die (which are the legal requirements for the admission of a ‘Dying declaration’).
Then, according to the mother, Nellie Gittens, her daughter began to relate how the accused knocked her down with a motor cycle, then picked her up and stabbed her several times about the body.
Under cross-examination  before the jury, Mr. Hukumchand had suggested to witness Nellie Gittens that what she said about  a ‘dying declaration’ by her daughter was a lie on her part, because the doctor’s evidence was of such that the injured woman would have been unable to speak, since she was bleeding  profusely from her neck and voice box.
The hearing continues today.