– defence failed to follow procedure
Dr Dalgleish Joseph yesterday testified for the defence in the Cyon ‘Picture Boy’ Collier murder trial, though his testimony was later deemed inadmissible following an application by the prosecution.
Dr Joseph was called by defence attorney Lyndon Amsterdam to challenge the cause of death of Ray Walcott, called ‘Sugar’, and his younger brother, Carl Andrews, called ‘Alo’, who were gunned down on September 23, 2006 at Victo-ria, East Coast Demerara allegedly by Collier.
When the trial continued in the High Court yesterday before Justice Diana Insanally, the defence presented Joseph as its final witness and he was taken through his evidence-in-chief and later cross-examined by State Prosecutor Judith Gildharie-Mursalin.
It was following her cross-examination of the witness that Gildharie-Mursalin made an application for his evidence to be deemed inadmissible. She contended that the doctor’s evidence was opinion evidence, but he could not be deemed an expert in the trial since Amsterdam had failed to make an application for him to be considered one, as required in Section 16 of the Evidence Act.
Amsterdam responded that it was an oversight on his part and argued that since the doctor had testified during the voir dire and was deemed an expert, he should also be considered an expert in the main trial.
Gildharie-Mursalin rebutted that the voir dire was separate.
Justice Insanally ruled shortly after in the prosecution’s favour, noting that Joseph’s evidence was inadmissible as it was indeed opinion evidence.
Collier had stated in his unsworn statement to the court, when he led his defence, that he was innocent of the crime and that the police beat him causing him to have a swollen scrotum.
However Camp Street Prison medex, Sharon Cumbermack, who was brought as a witness by the defence, said under cross-examination that Collier told her the police never beat him and there was no evidence of marks of violence in the medical record of Collier nor did he complain to her about a swollen scrotum.
The matter will continue on Monday when the defence will make its closing address to the jury followed by the prosecution.
