… Judge’s shorthand note-takers absent
JUSTICE Dawn Gregory, presiding judge in the Jean Lacruz murder trial, who was expected to sum up the evidence to the jury yesterday, was forced to postpone the summing-up to Monday next.
The reason given, sources close to the Supreme Court Registrar said yesterday, that shorthand note-takers contracted from a city firm to record summing-ups at the Criminal Courts during the Criminal Sessions in Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo, were in Berbice yesterday taking a summing-up before Justice Reynolds.
And, that they could not be in Demerara to cover the summing-up there.
As a consequence, Justice Dawn Gregory, who had to postpone her summing-up to yesterday to facilitate young prosecutors attending a prosecutors training course, had to further postpone her summing-up to Monday, May 23, when the note-takers are expected to be present.
In the past, the Supreme Court employed a team of about five shorthand note-takers who were called upon to serve all the courts in the country.
The strongest evidence against 36-year old Jean La Cruz, of Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast, Demerara, who is indicted for the murder of her husband Samkarran Singh, on May 18, 2006, following a rum spree, was a caution statement (an alleged confession), said to be made to the police by the accused.
But counsel for the accused, Mr. Peter Hugh, objected to the statement being put in evidence on the ground that it was not obtained in accordance with the judge’s rules.
However, the judge, who held a voir dire (a trial within a trial to determine the issue), found that the statement of the woman of mixed race, was obtained freely and voluntarily. The judge ordered that the statement be put in evidence.
The accused, called for a defence, made an unsworn statement from the dock in which she claimed that her husband used to drink out her money, which she earned as a domestic, in rum.
She told the police in her statement that on the day in question, she was at home with her husband who bought a half bottle of white rum. He took one shot and gave her the rest of the bottle to drink.
According to the statement, she nevertheless wanted more rum to drink which he refused to provide, and began telling her that he was going to have fun with a girl named Nancy.
She said that on hearing this, she got vexed and stabbed him twice with a small penknife, and he fell unconscious. She said that she was sorry for what happened.
Because defence counsel Mr. Peter Hugh did not address the jury, the prosecutors, Miss Rhondel Weaver and Miss Teshana James, also declined to address the jury.
The judge is expected to sum up the evidence to the jury on Monday morning after which she will give them directions, and hand over the case to them for their consideration and verdict.