Jury told that accused Sahadeo confessed to murder
DEOWATTIE Lysek, called ‘Shelly’, a witness for the prosecution in the Stewartville murder trial, yesterday told Justice Franklyn Holder and a mixed jury at the Demerara Assizes that the accused Sahadeo had shown her a gun and said, “This is the gun I used to shoot Vishnu Santie”.
But the chubby snackette owner, who did not report the confession promptly to the police, denied that she eventually did so under pressure. Nevertheless, she admitted that when she was under cross-examination in the magistrate’s court, she was referring to what the accused had told her when she told the magistrate, “I gave this statement to the police under pressure.”
The defendants, Peter Ray Kassim, called ‘Donkey’ and Satnanand Sahadeo, called ‘Boyso’, are facing trial for the murder of Vishnu Santie of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, who was shot dead on the evening of June 29, 2005.  
Following the shooting, the two accused were allegedly among a group of men seen running away from the scene. They were arrested and charged following police investigations. They have pleaded not guilty to the charge, and are represented by lawyers Mr. Hukumchand for Kassim and Mr. George Thomas for Sahadeo.
Leading Prosecutor, Mrs. Judith Gildharie-Mursalin, in association with Miss Renita Singh, is appearing for the prosecution.
Testifying yesterday, ‘Shelly’ said that she knew both accused. She also knew David Boucher as a friend.
Moreover, she knew the deceased Vishnu Santie, who lived in the same village. He died on 29th June, 2005.
She said that, about 2 weeks after Vishnu’s death, she was at her snackette when her neighbour David Boucher came to her fence and invited her to his home. She accepted the invitation, and on arrival there, saw Sahadeo sitting in the kitchen.
Witness said Sahadeo, called ‘Boyso’, who had a gun in his hand, asked her if she had any oil, stating that he had thrown his gun into water and it became rusty. He wanted some oil to clean the gun, and enquired whether she had any. She said she told him that she did not have.
Witness went on to say that the accused told her that the gun was the same weapon that he had used to shoot Vishnu. She said he then asked her for a loan of $1,500 to purchase bullets. Witness said that she did not have money.
Witness said that some days later, the police came to her snackette and invited her to Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station, telling her that she was wanted in relation to investigations.
She said that at the station, she met David Boucher, who insisted that she should tell the police what had transpired at his home when the accused had admitted using his gun to kill Vishnu.
Witness said that after Boucher insisted that she should say what had happened, she gave a statement to the police, setting out what Sahadeo had told her.
Cross-examined by Mr. Thomas for Sahadeo, the witness denied a suggestion that Sahadeo had no gun on the day in question, and that she had only made the statement at the request of her friend Boucher.
But in answer to further cross-examination, the witness admitted that, in relation to the same statement in the magistrate’s court at the preliminary inquiry, she had told the magistrate, “I gave this statement to the police under pressure.”  The trial is continuing.