Accused Alvin Semple was yesterday acquitted of the murder of Anna Catherina resident Balram Teekaram after a jury unanimously found him not guilty.
Semple was visibly relieved when Justice Jo-Ann Barlow told the police to “unshackle him [Semple],” after which he walked out the court a free man.
Semple’s father, who attended his court hearings, appeared equally relieved.
The judge told the former accused to see his acquittal as a chance to hold on to life in a “legal way.”
“I am not saying you did anything illegal,” the judge cautioned, “but see this as a chance “to go forward doing only positive things.”
The 12-member jury returned its verdict after about three hours of deliberations.
The indictment against the 27-year-old Semple stated that on April 16, 2011, he murdered Teekaram in the course or furtherance of a robbery.
He had pleaded not guilty.
It was the state’s case that Semple and others had entered Teekaram’s home in the wee hours of the morning on April 13, 2011, with the intention of robbing him and in the process the man sustained injuries which resulted in his death three days later.
During the trial, Yogindra Teekaram, the son of the victim, had testified that he recognised Semple as one of the men who invaded his father’s home after a rag he used to hide his face fell off during the fatal attack.
In his defence, Semple said he had no knowledge of the charge levelled against him and that he was at home in bed at the time of the attack.
Semple was represented by defence attorney Madan Kissoon, while the state was represented by prosecutors Shawnette Austin and Tamieka Clarke.
