TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Jamal Watterman, the only survivor of the five persons who had ingested cocaine-laced SSS Tonic, testified on Thursday in the ongoing trial.

Deon Layne, 34, a miner of Lot HH Freeman Street, East La Penitence, Georgetown, is accused of lacing SSS Tonic with cocaine, thus causing the death of four people. He stands charged with drug trafficking in relation to the matter.

It is alleged that on May 2, at Kokerite Street, Georgetown, Layne had in his possession 252 grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

He appeared in court before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on July 23 last, and was remanded to prison. The matter was transferred before Magistrate Judy Latchman for trial.

On Layne’s first appearance, Police Prosecutor Michael Grant said that on the day in question, at around 21:00hrs the defendant went to the home of Candacy McGarrell’s niece, who was visiting from the United States, with a request for her to take some SSS Tonic for his brother in the USA.

The woman left Guyana without the tonic, and five occupants of the home ingested the substance. Four later died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), the post-mortem revealing that they had died from consuming liquefied cocaine.

The unrepresented Layne will return to court on October 4.

The persons who had died in that incident were six-year-old Jahaquel Blair; his parents: 42-year-old Alex Blair and 36-year-old Simone Pryce; and a neighbour, 36-year-old Natasha George.

Before Jamal Watterman gave his testimony in the matter, a competency test was conducted by Magistrate Latchman to determine whether he understood and was capable of taking oaths.

He said he was at home with his stepfather and younger brother when defendant Layne came to the house, and at the time he was in his bedroom and he looked through the window and saw the accused.

At that time his mother was at church, and when she returned she told him to pass the plastic bag from the bedroom that had the tonic.

She broke the seal and poured some of the tonic into a Schnapp glass, and everyone took a taste of the tonic.

He explained that after he drank the tonic he felt numb and upset, and spat it out.

He said everything went back to normal, and they were watching television in the living room and everyone drank ‘kool kid’s’ juice.

After a while, he noticed his small brother swaying from side to side as if he would fall. He then demonstrated how his seven-year-old brother fell out of the chair sideways and started to froth.

Subsequently, his stepfather ran out of the house and screamed for help. Afterwards, his Uncle Dane, whom he referred to as Uncle Dany, came, and his stepfather and Dane placed his brother in a vehicle and took him to the Georgetown Public Hospital. He added that his mother followed in a taxi.

When they arrived at the hospital, they were all taken into the Emergency Unit via stretcher. He said that he spent about two weeks in the hospital, and he was informed that his mother, stepfather, brother and neighbour had died.

He described the bottle which contained the cocaine-laced tonic, and further told the court that it had the seal over the cork.

Watterman then told the court that he gave the police a statement in the presence of his father, and that he had signed it.

Approximately eight witnesses will testify in the trial. Among the eight are the 12-year-old and two police witnesses, Constable Shawn Critchlow who tendered the cocaine-laced SSS Tonic as evidence, and Constable Jason Kyte, who has testified thus far.

Layne did not ask the witness any questions, and the case was put off to September 29 to be continued.

After the young man testified, he walked from the witness box and headed straight towards his father, who was seated in the gallery. He then leaned his head on his father’s left side arm and broke down in tears. His father comforted him and took him outside of the courtroom.

(By Geeta Rampersaud)