Prosecution closes case in teenage murder trial
– in a rare legal move, the 12-member mixed jury  were driven several miles to visit alleged crime scene
THE prosecution in the teenage murder trial of  Rooplall Abrahim, 19, of Bath Settlement West Coast Berbice, closed its case at the Berbice Assizes, on Monday. Abrahim is accused of killing Kavita Panday on September 8,2008.
Prior to the closure on Monday, the State’s final witness Dr Vivikanand Brijmohan, in his evidence in chief, cited the cause of death of Kavita Panday, whose lifeless body was found afloat, as due to asphyxia and drowning, along with multiple injuries.
Describing the term asphyxia, the government pathologist explained that it is a severe obstruction of the airways, and is of the opinion that it could have been due to manual strangulation.
The doctor told the twelve-member jury that the victim was alive whilst she was submerged under the water, while pointing out that the evidence of mud  on her tongue, esophagus, voice box, the wind pipe and its two main branches, along with a foreign body in the right bronchi, caused him to derive her state of being.
In response to questions by defence counsel Mursulene Bacchus, the witness – describing an abrasion, said it is a breach in the integrity of the skin, and is distinguishable from a bruise. Depending on the extent of the abrasions, the signs would last for several days.
Asphyxia, he said, is a form of suffocation, resulting in death. Explaining further, Brijmohan said the multiple injuries seen on the body did not cause the death. Further, there was no evidence that the victim was unconscious immediately before she was submerged. In addition, he did not find any evidence that the hands of the deceased were tied before she was held under the water.
The witness observed that while there may have been significant force used, one must consider the physical characteristics of the assailant and victim.
Continuing, the witness said he also found evidence of an attempted manual strangulation, as there were bruises to the mandible, jaw, lips and bleeding to the victim’s eyes.
The medical practitioner noted that if someone is held under water by the neck, it is natural for the person to resist which will be a defensive reaction to an assault.
Responding to the judge, the doctor said the multiple injuries could have contributed to the asphyxia which resulted in drowning, but by itself it did not cause death.
Explaining further, he noted that a victim of a motor vehicular accident may not die as a result of the accident, but as a result of complications which may arise during hospitalization, which was as a result of the accident.
Meanwhile, during last week’s court hearings, Detective Sergeant Gilbert Ross, through whom the photographs  of the crime scene were tendered, under cross examination, said that following a discussion with the parents of the deceased Kavita Panday, the brother of the accused was arrested and taken into custody at the Fort Wellington police station.
The relative was arrested as the prime suspect, as he had responded to the call name of the accused.
On Thursday, the 12-member jury visited an abandoned plot at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, where in a nearby canal, the lifeless body of 13-year-old Kavita Panday was seen afloat on September 8, 2008.
State Counsel Donelle Weaver in her opening address, claims that Claudette David, mother of the alleged victim, had seen her daughter and Rooplall Abrahim, the accused, riding towards her parents’ farm on the canal embankment.
She had ventured into the area to chase cows that had managed to get into the farm, which is located some distance from where the houses are located.
After she failed to return home, a frantic search was launched to find her and within minutes her battered body with tights, underwear and skirt below the knee was discovered floating in a trench.
Abrahim called Vijai, now aged 18, denies the allegation.
In a rare legal move, the 12-member mixed jury was driven for several miles from the High Court in New Amsterdam to the West Coast of Berbice to see the alleged crime scene.
They arrived at the site at 11:00 hrs, having in their company presiding Judge Dawn Gregory Barnes, state counsel Donelle Weaver, defence counsel Mursulene Bacchus and his associate Dridnauth Perry Gossai, the accused, along with several police ranks and court staff.
At the Bath Settlement location, prosecution witnesses Claudette David, identified her home and, where she was positioned when she had seen the accused and her daughter, while her reputed husband Radesh Panday pointed out an area where they once farmed, and  where he had seen the slippers and cap, previously worn by his daughter.
Another witness, Seelall Jaipersaud, showed the visitors where he had seen the body afloat.