THE murder trial of 22-year-old Jonathan Budhan came to an end on Wednesday before Justice Navindra Singh and the verdict will be known today.
Budhan was tried for the murder of 40-year-old Deon Manbodh, called Ramesh, who was the uncle of his girlfriend, Bena Manbodh. Bena was 16 years old at the time of the incident.

Reports are, Budhan of Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara, who was 19 at the time of the incident, lashed Ramesh, of 655 Best Village, West Coast Demerara, to the head on October 20, 2016. Ramesh was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, and was in a coma for five days before succumbing to his injuries.

From the testimonies made during the trial, on October 20, 2016 Budhan was with his girlfriend Bena, when her uncle, Ramesh, approached the two and ‘embarrassed them in public’, then took his niece away with him. The accused, who lived with his aunt, Basmattie Baksh, went home after the incident and complained to her about the public scene Ramesh created. He told his aunt that Ramesh would constantly harass him and call him names, and that he was embarrassed.

The aunt, who testified in court, said that she and her nephew were waiting on the bridge of her home, to ask Ramesh what had transpired. Ramesh lived a few houses away, so he had to pass their home to get to his. When Ramesh came, the aunt said she was trying to find out from him, what really happened and they agreed to walk down to the place where he confronted the couple, to find out the full details of what had transpired from the people around.

While they were walking, Budhan used his cricket bat, and dealt a blow to Ramesh’s head, causing him to fall to the ground. Baksh told the court that she did not see the bat in her nephew’s hand, until the blow was dealt.

Doctor Nehaul Singh, who testified, said that the results of the post-mortem showed that Ramesh was lashed three times and that the lashes had to have been dealt with force because of the damage it caused to the head. However, Budhan said he only hit Ramesh once with his bat, and that it was out of frustration, after a series of provocation he faced from the now deceased. The case will be summed up on Friday, and the 12-member jury will deliberate and return with their verdict.

Budhan is being represented by Attorney Nigel Hughes, while Tuanna Hardy and Abigail Gibbs are leading the State’s case.