MURDER accused Sherwin Barnwell, called ‘Reeya’, who had been on trial for the unlawful killing of 42-year-old Nohar Bahadur, called ‘Bunty’, at Friendship, East Bank Demerara in December 2006, was yesterday freed on a no-case submission at the Demerara Assizes. Justice Franklyn Holder accepted a no-case submission by defence counsel Mr. George Thomas, and directed the mixed jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty in favour of the accused, without calling on him for a defence.
The defence lawyer had appeared in association with Attorney Miss Norma Lewis.
The prosecution was conducted by Senior State Counsel and recently appointed Magistrate Miss Zamilla Ally, in association with Miss Dianne Kauleser of the DPP’s Chambers.
Prosecutors had called witnesses to prove by circumstantial evidence that the accused had unlawfully killed ‘Bunty’ by stabbing him with a knife on the Friendship public Road between 24th and 25th December, 2006.
But the defence had successfully submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove it was the act of the accused that caused the death of the deceased, Nohar Bahadur, on Christmas Day 2006.
The defence had contended that, according to the prosecution’s case, the doctor who had performed the post-mortem had testified that death had been due to a stab wound, believed to have been inflicted with a knife; whereas the witnesses, who had been expected to support this theory, could go no further than to say that they had seen the accused slapping and stamping ‘Bunty’, who was lying on the side of the road and was later taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Following yesterday’s ruling, the judge directed the foreman of the jury to return a formal verdict of ‘not guilty’ in favour of the accused, whom the judge subsequently discharged.