A police constable, who witnessed the post-mortem examinations conducted on the bodies of the victims of the Lusignan massacre, took the witness stand yesterday when the trial of accused James Anthony Hyles and Mark Royden Williams continued.
Prosecution witness Police Constable Kelon Fraser testified that he went to the crime scene and also witnessed the post-mortem examinations that were conducted on the bodies of the 11 deceased at the Georgetown Public Hospital on June 28, 2008.
Fraser was the only witness to give evidence yesterday and he was then cross-examined by Williams’ attorney, Peter Yearwood.
Hyles called ‘Sallie’, and Williams called ‘Smallie’ are on trial before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed jury in the High Court for killing 48-year-old Clarence Thomas, his 12-year-old daughter Vanessa Thomas and his son Ron Thomas; 32-year-old Mohandai Gourdat and her two sons, four-year-old Seegobind Harrilall and ten-year-old Seegopaul Harrilall; 22-year-old Shazam Mohamed; 55-year-old Shaleem Baksh; Seecharran Rooplall, 56, his wife Dhanrajie Ramsingh, 52, and their 11-year-old daughter Raywattie Ramsingh on January 26, 2008.
Fraser told the court yesterday that relative to a report on an alleged shooting incident made at the Vigilance Police Station on January 26, 2008, he along with other ranks went to Tract ‘A’ Lusignan, East Coast Demerara. He said that on arrival in Lusignan, he saw a large crowd of people and acting on information received from one of them, he went to Lot 30 Tract ‘A’ Lusignan.
Fraser said that after escorting the bodies of the 11 deceased to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, they were pronounced dead on arrival. Fraser also said that the bodies were identified by relatives on January 28 to Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh and that the post-mortem examinations were conducted after the identification. He said that 11 fragments were removed from the body of Clarence Thomas and that two were removed from Shaleem Baksh.
According to Fraser, the fragments were sent for ballistics report after which they were lodged at the Vigilance Police Station. He testified that during April 2008 he uplifted the reports from the police station and took them to the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.
Fraser said that if he were to see the 11 post-mortem reports on the deceased, he would be able to identify them. After being shown the reports, the witness verified that those were the reports tendered in the Magistrate’s Court.
Under cross-examination by Yearwood, Fraser was asked if he did any fingerprint testing while at the crime scene, to which he replied no. Yearwood also asked him if he recalled anyone saying that they saw anyone do the shooting, and Fraser said that he couldn’t recall.
The judge asked Fraser if the bodies he escorted from Lusignan were the same bodies the post-mortem examinations were conducted on, to which he replied yes.
Earlier in the trial, state witness Durwin Wright had testified that Hyles told him he participated in the killing of the victims of the massacre.
Wright, who is currently in protective custody, had been charged with the August 2007 murder of Kumar Singh, also known as ‘Mango Man’ and was committed to stand trial in the High Court.
On Tuesday, the statement of Williams to police, in which he claimed he accompanied the members of the gang who went to Track ‘A’ Lusignan and committed the 11 murders but said that he did not kill anyone as he was only armed with a cutlass, was entered into evidence at the trial.
The trial will continue today.
