Orvin Kevin Roberts yesterday walked out of the High Court a free man after a jury found him not guilty of murdering 84-year-old drugstore owner Harold Rachpaul.
The 12-member jury returned a unanimous verdict after about three hours of deliberations.
“Mr. Roberts, the jury has found you not guilty. You are free to go. Good luck,” Justice Navindra Singh, who presided over the trial, told the former accused.
Roberts expressed his gratitude before leaving the courtroom.
“Thank you members of the jury,” Roberts said.
He then thanked junior attorneys Kezia Williams and Savannah Barnwell on behalf of attorney Nigel Hughes, who led his defence team. Hughes was absent when the verdict was announced.
Roberts continued, “Thank you Mr. Singh.” Looking over at his relieved relatives, he continued, “Thank you to my family and thank you every one.”
The charge against Roberts was that between August 18th and August 19th, 2011, he murdered the octogenarian in the course or furtherance of a burglary.
During the trial, the state had contended that Roberts’ fingerprints were found at the crime scene. Hughes had, however, questioned the integrity of the prints and disputed that they belonged to his client. Opting to lead his defence in unsworn testimony from the prisoner’s dock, Roberts on Wednesday declared that he was innocent of the charge.
When the verdict was announced yesterday, Roberts and family members who had gone to support him let out sighs of relief in the courtroom.
The young man’s sister, who attended every hearing, was visibly overjoyed with the verdict and was all smiles. Their mother, meanwhile, could be heard softly thanking God for the outcome, while saying that justice had been served.
After being unshackled and leaving the courtroom, Roberts was greeted with hugs and kisses from family members. His sister, who could not stop smiling, clung to him and reciprocated as they all made their way out the court complex.
Two of Rachpaul’s relatives, who were present for the verdict, appeared sad at the outcome of the case.
Rachpaul was found dead at his residence, located behind the Rachpaul’s Drug Store on Robb Street, by his son, Leonard, and grandson, Vincent, when they had arrived to open the store on the morning of August 19th.
The deceased’s son had told Stabroek News that he discovered his father’s body wrapped in two sheets. Rachpaul’s hands were tied in front of him and he was also gagged.
A post-mortem examination later determined that he died of asphyxiation and compression injuries to the neck, compounded by blunt perennial trauma to the head.
The state’s case was presented by prosecutor Narissa Leander in association with Teshanna James-Lake. The trial, which commenced on Monday, saw nine witnesses taking the stand.
