THE accused in the Devon Mc Farlene rape trial yesterday dropped a ‘bombshell’ when he unexpectedly led an alibi defence on oath, alleging that he was at home with his wife and three children when the alleged crime was commited. And his wife attended court to support his alibi, denying the prosecution’s suggestion that she was a liar trying to protect her husband.
Mrs. Mc Farlene testified that her husband was at home with her and her three children that night, and that she had to awake him on about three occasions when her baby awoke to be breast-fed.
But prosecutor Miss Retina Singh suggested to the witness that she was a liar who loved her husband and would do anything to help and protect him from further trouble.
Mrs Mc Farlene denied that suggestion, and said her home was about 500 yards away from where the VC lived, and that she was surprised the next day when she saw her husband in company with policemen, from whom she learnt about the rape allegation.
According to her, “I told the police that my husband could not have raped this woman, since he was with me and my children for the entire night.  But the policeman I told this did not ask me for a statement.”
In his statement from the witness box, the accused denied that he had a gun with which he had attacked the victim that night. He also said that the police had accused him of wearing beads on his penis, and had searched him for such beads, but had found nothing of the kind.
The accused denied that his alibi defence was a surprise, and that this was the first time he was claiming alibi as a defence. He said he could not remember giving evidence in the magistrate’s court at the preliminary inquiry, but when shown his signature on the depositions, admitted to the prosecutor under cross-examination that if the magistrate had ascribed something to him, he might have said so.
The other prosecutor in the matter is Senior State Counsel Mrs Judith Gildharie-Mursalin.
Upon resumption of the hearing on Monday, defence counsel Mr. Ronald Burch-Smith will address the jury. His address will be followed by one from one of the prosecutors.
Justice Roxanne George, presiding, is expected to sum up the case to the jury next Tuesday.