THE MURDER trial of Kevin Rankin, called ‘Lil Man’, ongoing before Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and a 12-member jury, is nearing its end.On Friday, the accused elected to give an unsworn statement from the prisoner’s box when asked to lead his defence. Rankin told the court that on the morning of October 21, 2013, his niece Kimani Phillips was playing in the front house of the same yard at 46 Haslington South, East Coast Demerara after his mother had left home. Later that morning, he related, his cousin Kiana Primo called him to collect the child because she was crying.

Rankin said that when he collected the two-year-old, she told him that her belly was hurting, and he called Primo after the child appeared to be in distress.

The accused, neatly dressed, stood before the Judge and jury and said that Primo began rubbing the child, after which she began breathing into the toddler’s mouth.

Rankin stated that Primo was also pressing down on the child with her hands while she breathed into her mouth.

The accused said he gave the police a statement and he hasn’t changed his story.

Rankin said, “I did not trouble Kimani, and I am innocent of this charge.”

The matter will continue on Monday at 9am, when both the defence and prosecution are expected to deliver their closing submissions.

Three months after the incident, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) recommended that Rankin be charged for murder, and he was re-arrested and arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court.

It was reported that Kimani Phillips was the victim of a brutal sexual assault (sodomy) after it was observed that her anus was enlarged and she had an old bite mark on her neck.

However, a post mortem revealed that the infant died from haemorrhage and shock due to multiple abdominal injuries.

Rankin is on trial for the October 21, 2013 murder of his two-year-old niece Kimani Phillips.