A TWELVE-member jury was, on Tuesday, empaneled to hear the attempted murder case of Richard Mohammed, who is accused of brutally chopping a pregnant woman with a cutlass in 2021.

Mohammed, 31, of Lower Pomeroon, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), appeared before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Demerara High Court.

He denied that on March 25, 2021, in the county of Essequibo, he attempted to murder the 23-year-old woman, who was six weeks pregnant at the time.

State Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken is expected to call a total of nine witnesses during the trial, which is set to commence today.

The chopping incident occurred in the wee hours of March 25, 2021. The mother of five lost several fingers and was also chopped to the head and other parts of the body.

According to reports, her house was also set ablaze by Mohammed.