Justice Franklyn Holder yesterday ruled to allow the statement under caution made to police by murder accused Sherwin Barnwell.
Justice Holder deemed the statement admissible into evidence at the conclusion of a voir dire to determine the admissibility of the statement, at Barnwell’s trial in the High Court for the murder of Nohar Bahadur.
It is alleged that Barnwell murdered Bahadur in 2006, at Friendship, East Bank Demerara, by beating him to death.
The conclusion of the voir dire was followed immediately by the resumption of the trial, where the prosecution presented three witnesses.
The first witness was Mohamed Zameer Yusuf, the brother-in-law of the deceased’s wife. Yusuf told the court that he last saw Bahadur when he visited him on Christmas Eve at his home, where they chatted for about 20 minutes. It was after this that Bahadur left for home. Yusuf recounted that the next time he saw Bahadur was at the morgue. Yusuf was then cross-examined by defence counsel Norma Lewis, who only asked one question pertaining to the time Bahadur left his home.
The prosecution then called on two other police witnesses to give their evidence. Policeman Aubrey Joseph gave his testimony and was not cross-examined by the defence. The testimony of the other police witness, Odel Percival, concluded the day’s hearing. Percival was cross-examined by the defence.
The case will continue today in the High Court.
