Mother of accused in brother-in-law murder deemed hostile witness after denying statement

Though accepting that it was her signature on a statement presented to the court by the prosecution, Taramattie Fredericks yesterday vehemently denied ever telling police that her son Lakeraj had called and told her that his brother-in-law Clifton Bonus had been shot.

Fredericks was testifying at the trial of her son, Lakeraj Fredericks, who is accused of murdering Bonus at Linden, sometime between June 1st and June 8th, 2011.

Fredericks told the court that days before her son-in-law was found dead, he had left her Nottinghamshire, Linden home, where he resided with his wife, her daughter.

When he failed to return after some time had passed, Fredericks said, she reported him missing and because of a phone call she subsequently received, she went back to the police station.

Clifton Bonus

According to the witness, someone whom she did not know, had called briefly on her cell phone from an unknown number, and told her something.

The woman told Prosecutor Siand Dhurjon that she gave police a statement which she signed, but denied that it said Lakeraj had called, even when confronted with the statement and read the section in which she reportedly told police just that. Fredericks said she could not read and write well, but could identify her signature.

She said she knew of problems between the accused and deceased, but denied telling police in her statement that she had asked her son if he knew his brother-in-law’s whereabouts and he had demurred but enquired why she was questioning him about Bonus.

At this point, the prosecution made a successful application for Fredericks to be deemed a hostile witness, for purposes of cross-examining her.

Justice Navindra Singh, who is presiding over the trial, reminded Fredericks that she was under oath, and can be jailed for as much as seven years, if found guilty of lying to the court.

However, she remained adamant about what she had not said to the police.

Asked if the officer who wrote her statement had read it back to her, Fredericks said she could not recall. She admitted loving her son, but denied she was lying to protect him.

In response to questions from the judge, Fredericks said the officer who conducted the interview with her, wrote as she spoke. She said it took the form of the officer asking questions, and her responding, after which she signed.

She also told the judge the officer had read the statement to her, though moments before she said she could not recall. But she was evasive when asked if the officer had mentioned her son calling her and eventually said she could not recall.

At the close of the prosecution’s case yesterday, the accused professed his innocence in unsworn testimony from the dock, while stating that he only signed a statement saying he had shot Bonus, because he was threatened by police that he would be hanged in prison.

He said he was forced to sign and while he could spell and write his name, he did not know how to read, as he did not go far school.

According to the caution statement, Lakeraj told the police that after an argument on a farm where he planted marijuana, a person whose name he gave as “Ronald,” handed him a gun to shoot Bonus, and he did, but he did not die. Lakeraj then handed the gun back to “Ronald,” who shot Bonus to the head, killing him. “Ronald” and the accused then dug a hole aback the old airstrip at Linden and buried the deceased. The accused has denied giving the police that statement.

Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh had testified that Bonus died of haemorrhage due to gunshot wounds to the head.

Representing the accused is attorney Madan Kissoon, while the state’s case is led by Dhurjon in association with Tuanna Hardy.

The trial continues on Wednesday morning.