THE jury yesterday returned a verdict of not guilty in favour of Anthony George, called ‘Ryan’, who had been charged with manslaughter for unlawfully stabbing his stepfather Ralph Jacobs to death during a fight between them on December 7th 2008’, The prosecution led by Miss Natasha Backer in association with Miss Mercedes Thompson did not have any eyewitness to the alleged crime and therefore had to rely on a confession statement by the accused, who later denied making the statement of his own free will.

His lawyer Miss Sonia Parag had subjected him to cross-examination by the prosecuting counsel. But although he apparently answered wrongly during cross examination, the jury gave him the benefit of the doubt by returning a verdict of not guilty in his favour.
The accused had claimed that his stepfather was in the habit of beating his brother and mother. But according to him, on the day in question, he intervened as a peacemaker to prevent his stepfather from beating his younger brother when he was hit on the head with a bottle by his stepfather.
The accused said that as a consequence a fight developed between them when a friend handed him a knife which he used in self-defence against the might of his stepfather.
The stepfather died as a result of the stab wound.