Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos yesterday made a no-case submission at the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the charge against Barry Small, who is accused of murdering school girl Neesa Gopaul.
In his address to the court, De Santos challenged the admissibility of the evidence led by the prosecution in the case against his client. Small is charged jointly with Gopaul’s mother, Bibi Sharima Gopaul, for the murder.
De Santos advanced also that the prosecution’s case was based on suspicion. For this, he advanced his authority in the case of Thomas and Bella v. Ramcharran [1945] BGLR, which illustrated the “principle of suspicion.” The case he argued, stressed that “suspicion, no matter how high its degree, is not proof and can never be equated with proof.”
After De Santos’ submissions, a July 19 adjournment was granted for defence attorney Vic Puran, who is representing Bibi Sharima Gopaul, to make his submissions to the court. He had indicated to the court at the previous hearing that he would have been unable to attend yesterday’s hearing.
After Puran’s submissions, the prosecution will then respond and a date will be set for ruling in the matter.
The allegation against Small and Gopaul, of 13 Public Road Leonora, West Coast Demerara, is that between September 24 and October 2, 2010, at Madewini, Linden-Soesdyke Highway, they murdered the teen.
The girl’s body was stuffed into a suitcase, which was discovered by a group of picnickers on October 2, anchored in the creek at the Emerald Tower Resort.
