MICHEAL Emanuel called “Giddie,” who was on trial for the 2018 murder of Linden footballer Leonard Peters, also known as “Lenny,” was, on Monday, freed, after Justice Sandil Kissoon upheld a no-case submission made by his attorney Damian DaSilva. Emanuel of West Watooka, Linden, was charged with murdering Peters on December 21, 2018, at West Watooka. After the final witness testified on Monday, state prosecutors Taneisha Saygon, Lisa Cave and Muntaz Ali closed their case.
DaSilva then argued that his client acted in self-defence and made a no-case submission calling for the case to be dismissed.
Justice Kissoon, during his address, said that from the case put forth by the prosecution, it was revealed that it was Peters who attacked Emanuel with a knife following a quarrel on the day in question. However, Emanuel responded by ‘firing lashes’ at the deceased with a bicycle bar before there was a physical struggle during which he managed to take away the knife.

The judge noted that although Emanuel had the knife, he kicked Peters.
“Paradoxically, the defence of self-defence arises from the very evidence on which the prosecution relies on to support a conviction. The prosecution case therefore suffers circumstantially from its own inherent weaknesses,” the judge added.
He further explained that the prosecution case suffered a “two-fold defect” since there was no direct evidence that the accused, at any time, inflicted the fatal injury on the deceased. As such, the judge stated that the state had failed to establish a prima facie case against Emanuel for the offence of murder and ordered the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.