Man freed of shallow grave murder

 

Godfrey Smith walked out the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate's Court a free man yesterday after Principal Magistrate Oscar Parvatan said the prosecution had not proven a scintilla of evidence against him.

The Essequibian was accused of the murder of boat mechanic Deonarine Prahalad, whose bullet-riddled body was found under a heap of sand at Hamburg Beach on December 12, four days after he was abducted at Parika.

Smith stood for a preliminary inquiry that lasted about seven months at the Leonora Magistrate's Court.

One of the eyewitnesses to the abduction, boat captain James Mc Garrell, testified that police wrote a statement implicating Smith and practically compelled him to sign.

He said in order to extract his signature police handcuffed him and drove pass the police lockups while making threats.

Mc Garrell said on December 8 he was assisting Prahalad to load fuel for a Port Kaituma trip.

The witness said when Prahalad, the captain and the passenger were ready he was asked to release the rope which secured the boat to the Stelling.

Mc Garrell testified to having witnessed the abduction from the wharf where he stood watching the speed-boat chase.

However he said there was no way he could identify the men since they were masked.

According to Mc Garrell, he was also part of the search party who later discovered the body of the deceased in the sand.

Mc Garrell said after he was arrested, Senior Superintendent Caesar and Inspector Osmond Leitch asked him to identify the abductors but he could not recognise them.

He said the officers threatened that after they were finished he would be able to identify the men.

“Dem tell me dem gon mek me know and gon mek me sey everything wha me ain't even know,” Mc Garrell informed the court.

He said a statement was later written by one of the officers who instructed him where to sign.

Under cross-examination, Mc Garrell said he signed the statement since he was intimidated by the policemen.

Another boat captain, Cherome Harka, said too that he could under no circumstance identify the abductors.

After the testimony of the two main witnesses, Attorney-at-Law Neil Boston suggested to the prosecution to close the case against his client.

Inspector Leitch then testified that he too was instructed to charge Smith.

He turned up to testify after prosecution threatened to issue an arrest warrant for him.

Detective Sergeant Joel David, Detective Inspector Hugh Jessamy, Detective Lance Corporal Lallbachan Dyal, Detective Corporal Salaish Roopnarine, and brother of the deceased, Ramlakhan Prahalad all testified.

Sergeant David was responsible for investigating the murder after receiving information.

Under cross-examination, David agreed that the information he received was of no assistance in identifying a suspect.

Detective Jessamy said he was responsible for questioning the accused who he arrested and took into custody.

During cross-examination, Jessamy admitted to detaining Smith without question for four days on the instructions of Inspector Leitch.

Jessamy said he never read accusation of murder to Smith and told him he was detained because he could help “solve the murder”.

Prahalad testified to identifying the body of his brother to Dr. Nehal Singh at the post-mortem examination.

Boston then made a no-case submission and the Magistrate instructed the accused that he had no case to answer.

Yesterday, Magistrate Parvatan upheld the no-case submissions and said a sufficient case was not made out against Smith for murder or manslaughter.

“You are a free man, Mr. Smith,” the Magistrate said. “You are discharged.”

Saturday - July 23, 2005