The trial of Shakir Mohamed, who was charged with the murder of Shewraney Doobay, has ended in a hung jury and he has been remanded to prison pending a retrial.
After more than four hours of deliberation, the 12-member mixed jury was unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict late yesterday afternoon.
After retiring to deliberate at approximately 1.40 pm, the jury emerged from the jury room requesting further directions from Justice Brassington Reynolds who presided over the case.
The foreman explained to the court, that some of the jurors wanted to know the whereabouts of the hammer, alleged to be the murder weapon.
The hammer had not been tendered as evidence in the trial.
Justice Reynolds explained that the absence of an alleged murder weapon is not fatal to the prosecution’s case. He also explained that it was not the procedure that if an alleged murder weapon is not produced, then a case cannot be solved.
He asked them to imagine how many cases would be prosecuted if the producing of the murder weapon were integral to them being brought to court. He pointed out that are instances where the weapons may be thrown away after use.
He directed the jurors to consider all the evidence led in the case and to look at all of it as a whole. He also explained to them that the alleged caution statement which the state has argued was given by the accused, was the main piece of evidence on which the prosecution was relying, as part of proving its case.
The judge reminded the jurors that they were the judges of fact and if they believed, and regarded the contents of the caution statement to be true, then recalling that the said statement spoke of the presence and use of a hammer, they as the judges of facts, might deduce that there was a hammer.
He noted that if they regarded that statement as being true, coupled with all the other bits and pieces of evidence led in the case, they can conclude that a hammer was used.
Justice Reynolds explained that such an inference can be made from their assessment of the facts of the case, though the hammer was not presented in the trial.
He reemphasized that it was solely within their ambit to determine what weight they were going to attach to the facts.
Indicating that they understood the judge’s directions, the jury again retired to the jury room, emerging once more at about 5.30 pm.
The jury then came out for the final time at approximately 6.05 pm, indicating that they had not arrived at a unanimous verdict.
In the circumstances, Mohamed has to face a retrial, at a date to be announced.
Mohamed was on trial before Justice Reynolds and the 12-member jury for the murder of Doobay, called “Monica,” in the course or furtherance of a robbery on May 24, 2011. Mohamed has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Doobay, 58, was found dead in her Echilibar Villas, Campbellville home. A post-mortem examination revealed that she died as a result of eight wounds inflicted to her head.
Mohamed had been jointly charged with Doobay’s nephew, Mark Singh, but his co-accused died in hospital on January 4, 2012.
Mohamed was represented by attorneys Jainarine Singh and Moti Singh. Meanwhile, the state’s case was presented by Prosecutor Mercedes Thompson.
