Johnathan Budhan is likely to know his fate tomorrow afternoon after a jury deliberates on the case against him for the alleged murder of Deonarine Manbodh whom he does not deny hitting with a cricket bat, contending he acted in self defence.
Particulars of the charge against Budhan are that on October 25th, 2016, he murdered Manbodh at Best Village, West Coast Demerara.
Professing his innocence at the close of the prosecution’s case against him yesterday, Budhan in his brief address to the court in unsworn testimony from the prisoner’s dock said, “your Honour, I’m innocent of this charge.”
He told Justice Navindra Singh and the 12-member jury hearing his case at the High Court in Georgetown, that he would be standing by whatever was in the statement he had given to the police.
Highlighting Manbodh as the aggressor—which the prosecution did not deny, though it rejects his defence, Budhan’s attorney Nigel Hughes, in his closing address to the jury, stressed the law’s recognition of a person defending himself if being attacked.
Facts presented during the trial are that the accused and Manbodh’s niece shared a relationship of which the young girl’s family did not approve.
The court had heard that on the day in question, after seeing his niece speaking to Budhan, the now deceased Manbodh after taking her home, rushed over to Budhan’s home where he confronted him in a rage.
Aunt of the accused, Basmattie Baksh, with whom he lived at the time of the incident, and who was called as a witness for the proseution, had testified that while speaking to Manbodh in front of her yard in a bid to ascertain what his issue was, he charged past her just after reaching to his waist.
She said she did not see what he reached for.
According to the witness, it was not until she turned around that she realised her nephew was standing behind her in the yard. The woman said she did not see what transpired, but obsereved Manbodh lying unconscious on the ground.
Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy, however, disputed the woman’s account of the deceased ever reachig to his waist, contending that the accused began beating him with the cricket bat about his body.
Hardy pointed out to Baksh that it had been the first time she was ever telling anyone about Manbodh reaching to his waist for anything. Noting that she had made no such mention when she commenced her testimony on Tuesday, Hardy sought to enquire from the witness whether there was a reason she only stated yesterday that she saw the deceased going to his waist.
The witness in response said she had no explanation to offer.
Hughes said, however, that after Manbodh charged towards his client, he (Budhan) in fear impulsively retaliated by grabbing a cricket bat which was next to the gate and fired lashes in an attempt to ward off Manbodh, in the process of which he was hit.
Counsel told the jury that his client, after realising that Manbodh and his family did not approve of him dating the now 20-year-old niece at the centre of the entire case, decided to sever the realtionship, but she kept pursuing him.
The youg girl, Bena Manbodh, who testified at yesterday’s hearing did not deny that even though the accused would try to stay away from her, it was she who kept pursuing him.
Responding to questions from Hughes under cross-examination, she admitted that on the day in question after being sent home by her father, she did not go, but instead boarded the speed boat on which Budhan worked from Georgetown to Vreed-en-Hoop on at least two occasions.
Though responding to some questions in a sometimes bashful and evasive manner, the young woman confirmed that Budhan had himself told her to go home, as he wanted no problems with her family, but she nonetheless waited around for him until he had finished working that day.
Hughes said that against his initial intentions, his client eventually decided to follow the then 16-year-old girl home, only because it had begun getting dark and late. It was as this point that Manbodh saw them.
Questioned by Hughes, the girl confirmed that after her uncle had taken her home, she texted Budhan to notify him that the man was heading to his house.
She also testified to her uncle “chucking” both her and Budhan when he saw them walking together, as he called the accused a series of derogatory names.
Asked whether the way her uncle treated the accused, did not signify to her, her family’s disapproval of the relationship and an indication for her to leave him alone, she shook her shoulders, stating in a barely audible tone, “meen know.”
As she was testifying, the foreman and other members of the jury obsereved her mother who was sitting at the back in the public gallery, seemingly motioning responses to her.
Justice Singh sternly called the woman out on the complainints which she denied.
The judge, however, immediately sent the woman out of the courtroom for the remainder of the morning session by which time her daugther had completed giving her evidence.
When the case resumes at 9am tomorrow, Justice Singh will be making his summation to the jury, which will then retire to deliberate on a verdict.
Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh had given Manbodh’s cause of death as severe blunt trauma to the head.
He was reportedly beaten on October 20th, 2016 but succumbed to his injuries five days later at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
