A 29-year-old fisherman was on Tuesday committed to stand trial at the Berbice High Court for the murder of his reputed wife, Sattie Jagmohan, who he allegedly forced to ingest a poisonous substance.

Ramesh Nandalall, was committed by Magistrate Peter Hugh, who presided over the preliminary inquiry (PI) at the Blairmont Magistrate’s Court.

Magistrate Hugh ruled that there was sufficient evidence for Nandlall to face a judge and jury at the next practical sitting of the Berbice Assizes.

According to reports, Jagmohan, 27, of Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice (WCB) died days after her husband beat her, held a cutlass to her neck, and forced her to drink a poisonous substance on February 3, 2021.

A police report detailed that officers, on February 9, 2021, were told about Jagmohan’s condition at the Fort Wellington Hospital.

When ranks contacted her, she claimed that Nandalall physically and verbally abused her, consistently, and had even threatened to kill her many times.

Jagmohan alleged that on February 3, at around 18:00hrs, Nandalall verbally abused her, during which he pushed her into a wall and kicked and cuffed her about the body.

She further alleged that he then placed a cutlass to her neck, gave her a white bottle containing a liquid substance, and told her to drink it. Out of fear, Jagmohan said she drank the substance, and was then taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital.

She was subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where she died on February 17.

Nandlall was first charged for attempted murder, but the offence was upgraded to murder following the woman’s death.