The murder trial of Abickie Ferguson, who is accused of killing her stepfather, began before Justice Navindra Singh in the High Court yesterday.
Ferguson, who was 17 years old at the time, is accused of killing her stepfather, Glendon Scipio, on April 22, 2009 at Lot 78 Victoria Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara.
State prosecutors Rhondel Weever and Renita Singh presented Ferguson’s mother, Esther Simon, and her father, Ronald Ferguson, as witnesses. A few police witnesses also testified.
Ferguson’s father told the court that she told him that Scipio had tried to molest her and they had a scuffle. He said his daughter related to him that during the scuffle, Scipio pulled her and tore her clothes off and she had an object in her hand which hit Scipio.
Policeman Radesh Persaud, who had obtained an oral statement from Ferguson, testified that Ferguson told him she went home from school and saw her home locked. Scipio then came downstairs and she went upstairs in the house.
Persaud said that according to Ferguson, Scipio followed her up the stairs and began to abuse her and she picked up a knife from the kitchen, but her neighbour told her to put it down.
He added that Ferguson told him she put the knife down and went downstairs, but Scipio followed her and abused her resulting in her picking up a piece of wood and lashing him on his foot.
After this, Ferguson told the policeman, she ran back upstairs, picked up a knife and stabbed Scipio in his stomach and he fell. According to Persaud, he asked Ferguson whether she would like to put what she told him in writing and she replied yes, but her father who was present with her at the time, told her not to do so and as such she did not. Ferguson also told Persaud that Scipio had cuffed her to the face but he said that he did not see any injury to her face.
Policewoman Natasha Calder in her evidence-in-chief said she had taken Ferguson to be examined by a medical practitioner. Calder stated that Ferguson was crying and appeared to be traumatised when she saw her. She also had some scratches on her neck.
Defence counsel Hukumchand asked Calder under cross-examination who gave her the instruction to take Ferguson to be examined but she said that she could not recall. He also asked her if she had made an entry in the station diary when she took his client to the doctor to which she replied no. Hukumchand then asked if it was not standard operational procedure for this to be done when transporting prisoners from one location to the other and Calder said yes.
Her explanation for not making the entry was that she was attached to the traffic department at that time and she was only asked to take Ferguson to a doctor.
Hukumchand then added that there was no record to corroborate the story of the police taking his client to a doctor, since they failed to record it. The case will continue today.
