Judge frees accused wife killer on Defence submission
THE trial of Mohammed Rasheed called Raymond, ‘Boy’ and ‘Rigman’, who was indicted at the Berbice Assizes for the murder of his wife, Budmattie Ramroop alias ‘Vedoo’ or ‘Haribol woman’, ended abruptly Thursday afternoon.
It happened after Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes upheld submissions by defence counsel Charrandas Persaud and instructed the 12-member jury to formally return a ‘not guilty’ verdict in favour of the accused.
The woman’s death was reported, by her husband, on July 27, 2008 at Number 51 Police Station and a post mortem examination revealed that she had succumbed to blunt head trauma.
Before  Thursday’s end, the judge had, earlier, ruled that the caution statement attributed to the prisoner was inadmissible, as there was doubt about the circumstances under which it was taken, after the defence objection to it cited threats, use of force and violence, by persons in authority, to secure the signature on it.
Defence counsel Persaud also submitted that the prosecution did not make out a prima facie case against Rasheed, as no medical evidence nor autopsy report were tendered in  evidence.
The lawyer argued, as well, that there were inconsistencies in the testimony related to injuries allegedly suffered by the victim and the judge observed that the medical records from the prison revealed that an x-ray and medication for pain were ordered for the prisoner on his admission to the penitentiary.
However, while prison officers were unsure as to whether the doctor’s orders were adhered to, the prisoner claimed that the x-ray was done at New Amsterdam Hospital.
The Court asked for the x-ray findings but did not get a satisfactory reply.
Last Monday, when the trial started, Police Detective Corporal Winston Singh testified that he visited Skeldon Hospital mortuary and was shown the body of the deceased, by her son, Balwan Jugmohan.
The witness said on physically examining the corpse, he saw a lacerated wound at the back of the head, measuring half inch in diameter and fresh blood flowed from it.
Police Constable Terry Cummings, who took the death report from the accused at Number 51 Police Station, recalled going to her home and seeing her lifeless form lying on a bedroom floor, facing upwards.
The policeman said he examined the body thoroughly and did not see any marks of violence before escorting it to Skeldon Hospital mortuary.
Daughter of the deceased, Savitri Jugmohan, who also testified, said, after receiving a message at the home of her father-in-law, she was proceeding to her mother’s residence on July 27, 2008 when she saw the latter lying on a dam.
The witness said she enquired, of her stepfather, who said the woman was drunk and unable to walk and he was taking her home.
The following day, at 03:00h, she was awakened by the voice of the accused who informed her that her mother was dead. He said he had been trying to awaken her but she did not answer him.
The witness said she advised the accused to tell the police and, two hours later, she went to her mother’s house, where she removed a covering sheet to view the dead woman.
In answer to defence counsel Persaud, the daughter said her mother, habitually, consumed alcohol. She, too, said she saw no blood when the body was removed from the house.