A man who was charged with murdering his friend following an argument over a compact disc (CD) walked free earlier this week when Justice Diana Insanally upheld the submissions of his lawyer and ordered the jury to return a not-guilty verdict.
Dhamesh Raymond alias ‘Fatboy’ had been on trial at the Berbice Assizes for the June 4, 2005 murder of Cliff Alexander Chinamootoo.
In her submissions, attorney-at-law Kim Kyte-John said that given the facts led by the prosecution the jury would have to speculate, which was a dangerous thing. “There was no eyewitness,” the lawyer added, and the words “Fat boy juk me, allegedly uttered by the deceased to his mother, could not assist the jury.”
Replying, State Counsel Ganesh Hira said among other things that the statement attributed to the accused is the only evidence which chronicles the circumstances of the incident.
What could be inferred, Hira said, was that the fatal wound was accidentally inflicted.
It was the State’s opinion, he said, that neither the state nor the court was in a position to tell the members of the jury that the accused “jukked” the deceased.
Hira agreed that the evidence for the prosecution was so tenuous, that taken at its highest, a jury properly directed could not convict.
In addition, he submitted that in good conscience, it might be improper for the case to go to the jury.
Several witnesses had been called during the trial including Detective Sergeant 10952 Gravesande, Police Lance Corporal Philbert Kendall and parents of the deceased Minette Chinamootoo and Joseph Alexander Chinamootoo. Several others could not testify as they now live overseas or could not be found.
A caution statement made by the accused was admitted into evidence, in which he said, “I borrowed a CD from he [referring to the deceased], and he came to my house asking for it..I told him I had already given it to his sister. We had an argument and he slapped me and pulled out a knife. We scrambled and together we fell on the ground. When we separated, Cliff said, ‘Oh Fat Boy, I get juk’.”
