Jahora Ramnauth, 76, accused of murdering her partner, was freed yesterday after the prosecution was unable to tender the post-mortem report to establish the victim’s death.
As a result, Justice Navindra Singh upheld a no-case submission by Ramnauth’s lawyer at the High Court. Justice Singh subsequently directed the 12-member jury that was empanelled to hear the trial to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
Ramnauth, called ‘Zaimool,’ was on trial for the murder of Subaschand, called ‘Bruk up’, which occurred on April 1, 2008 at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara.
“There is no post-mortem report or testimony telling us how or if he (Subaschand) died. The police did not know him personally and there was no evidence to conclude that Dr Singh performed a post-mortem examination,” Justice Singh said.
After the jury returned the verdict, Ramnauth was told she was free to go.
The post-mortem report was never tendered during the preliminary inquiry into the murder charge, which had resulted in Ramnauth’s committal to stand trial. Calling it a most “unfortunate case,” Senior State Counsel Judith Gildharie-Mursalin said the state in this case has not established the identity of the deceased.
The prosecutor also said that because no post-mortem report was tendered, it was not known what caused the victim’s death or even if he is dead.
According to reports, the couple had been drinking and later in the evening they began to row. During the row, the man was severely beaten.
He was taken to the Leonora Diagnostic Centre and then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he died later that night.
Gildharie-Mursalin closed her case yesterday after calling four witnesses to testify. Sergeant Narine Lall testified that he took the oral statement from Ramnauth in the presence of Corporal Paul Watson. In his testimony, Watson said that on April 4, 2008 he was present at the Georgetown Public Hospital mortuary, where he witnessed the post-mortem examination being done by Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh on the body of Subaschand. The body, he said, was identified by his Subaschand’s brother. He also testified that on April 20, 2008 he uplifted the post-mortem report from the office of Dr Singh and lodged same at Leonora Police Station. Defence counsel Hukumchand, in his no-case submission, said that in the circumstances he did not see anything other than self-defence prevailing. Hukumchand said that in Ramnauth’s caution statement, she said that she was in her bed when Subaschand came calling for her to let him into her home. After he forced his way in, she alleged in her statement, he attempted to sexually abuse her. The lawyer said it was after this that she took a stick and lashed Subaschand.
He also said that she told Subaschand she did not want a relationship with him since she was a big woman.
He further stated that in Watson’s evidence, he had said that when he questioned the accused, she had said that Subaschand was drunk and tried to beat her, and that was why she beat him.
