SEDLEY Liverpool called ‘Birdman’, who was on trial for the 2015 murder of a Nelson Street, Mocha-Arcadia, East Bank Demerara mechanic, was, on Friday, freed after Justice Brassington Reynolds upheld a no-case submission made by his attorney, Ravindra Mohabir.

Liverpool was on trial at the Demerara High Court for the capital offence which alleged that, on June 1, 2015, at Nelson Street, Mocha Arcadia, he murdered 23-year-old Terrence Lanferman.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Mohabir made a no-case submission calling for the indictment to be dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

The judge later upheld the submission and stated that the State had failed to establish a prima facie case against Liverpool for the offence of murder.

He then ordered the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial told the court that based on the directions of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., the State will be appealing the judge’s ruling.

Liverpool’s cousin, Kenkassie Lynch, was also charged for the capital offence of murder for his role in the crime. In 2019, he was tried before Justice Navindra Singh and was sentenced to serve 75 years after a jury found him guilty of the crime.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that the shooting reportedly stemmed from a feud between the accused and Lanferman. However, Lynch admitted that he alone carried out the shooting.

On the day in question, Lynch returned to Mocha and met his cousin, after which he visited Nelson Street to conduct surveillance on Lanferman’s house.

Lynch then returned to Liverpool’s house, and at around 19:00 hours, Liverpool allegedly gave him a handgun. The two headed back to Nelson Street on a ‘CG’ motorcycle.

While Liverpool waited in a nearby street, Lynch admitted that he went to Lanferman’s residence and knocked on the front door.

Lanferman opened his front door to greet his visitor, only to be confronted by a gunman.