THE jury in the murder trial of Roy Pestano (Snr) and his son, Raymond, was unable to arrive at a verdict following extended deliberations at the Berbice Assizes on Thursday evening.

The forewoman, on being questioned by Justice Navindra Singh, reported that, with respect to the son, 10 members were in favour of the prosecution while two had found him not guilty.
However, nine jurors decided that the 61-year-old father was guilty but three others disagreed with that decision.
The stone-faced duo stared at State Prosecutrix Judith Gildharie-Mursalin as they were told, by the judge, that they will have to face a retrial at the next sitting of the Berbice criminal sessions.
In her address to the jury, Gildharie-Mursalin had claimed there was overwhelming evidence and urged the members to return a decision in keeping with the oath they had taken and the dictates of their conscience.
“The main witness, Kenrick Ramlagan had stuck to his story, 11 years after, although he was questioned extensively by the learned Senior Counsel   Bernard De Santos.
“He had known the Pestanos all his life. Why would he lie after all these years?” she asked.
Continuing, she said: “Davinand Ramlagan was slaughtered like an animal. Kenrick, the brother of the deceased saw his throat burst. Nothing blocked his view.”

REMAINS UNSHAKEN
“Is it so far fetched that he said Roy Pestano (Snr) held the now deceased’s hand behind his back. His story remains unshaken. Although he was challenged, he maintained his story. The accused men were not defending themselves. It was not accidental. It was not provoked.”
Gildharie-Mursalin, in a passionate plea, had implored the jury to consider the testimony of Kenrick Ramlagan in its totality, as, in all his statements, he maintained that it was the Pestanos who had inflicted the injuries on his 25-year-old sibling.
The witnesses for the prosecution had testified that, on October 19, 2002, Kenrick Ramlagan and Goel Richard Ross were attending a birthday party at Breezy Point Shop, located at Number 41 Village, West Coast Berbice, when a white car pulled up.
Roy Pestano (Snr), his sons, Roy (Junior) and Raymond exited the vehicle and proceeded into the business place. Roy (Junior) walked towards Kenrick Ramlagan and dealt him several slaps, resulting in the abused man asking why he was hit.
Subsequently, there was a confrontation and, in the end, the victim was left bloodied, speechless and motionless, while the Pestanos went back into their vehicle and sped away.
An autopsy, conducted by Government Forensic Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh established that the man’s jugular vein was severed and resulted in death of the brain cells.
The doctor said a normal person would succumb within four minutes of suffering such an injury but there were also two stab wounds and a similar number of slashes to the back and front of the thoracic cavity, resulting in the man dying from shock and haemorrhage.

UNSWORN STATEMENT
In an unsworn statement from the dock, Raymond Pestano denied ever injuring Davinand Ramlagan.
“I had no reason to do so, as we were on speaking terms. I was not in any car at Breezy Point…,” he insisted, adding that Kenrick Ramlagan was mistaken.
“He drinks a lot and must have been drunk at the birthday party,” the prisoner stated, maintaining his innocence.
The senior Pestano, also in an unsworn statement, made a denial of the incident, as well, claiming it was a made-up story, because he had no reason to inflict injuries on the man.
Pointing out that they were all on speaking terms, he reminded that he was not charged until one month after his son and the case was dismissed, because there was no evidence.
Following investigations Roy (Junior) and Raymond Pestano were charged with the unlawful killing of Davinand Ramlagan called ‘Devendra’ and ‘Davo’ and that case was discharged but the director of public prosecutions (DPP) ordered a rehearing, by which time Roy Pestano (Junior) had fled the jurisdiction.
It was after a preliminary inquiry, conducted by Magistrate Roby Benn, that the father and son were committed to stand trial for the December 6, 2011 killing of their fellow villager.