Richard Stanton, the man who is accused of gunning down businesswoman Patricia Sanasie, will stand trial for her murder in the High Court.
Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul yesterday committed Stanton, 39, of Lot 53 Princes Street, Lodge, to stand trial after ruling that a prima facie case had been made out against him.
It was alleged that Stanton murdered Sanasie on January 12, 2015, at Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara. He was not required to plead to the charge.
At the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry into the charge yesterday, the magistrate told Stanton that after reviewing the evidence that was laid out by Prosecutor David Goodridge, the court was satisfied that a prima facie case for murder had been made out against him.
The magistrate went on to say that the case rested solely upon the testimony of the daughter of the deceased, Ramona Sanasie, who had identified Stanton. She said that while there was no corroborating evidence to support the witness, the court gave credence to the identification. “We do not consider this case of
identification to be a fleeting glance case—it was not a drive-by—he [Stanton] looked at her [Ramona] twice,” the magistrate Said.
She also noted that that though Ramona Sanasie was the only eyewitness to her mother’s killing and the court had no doubt that it was traumatic for her, a person in those circumstances can remember things years later, like in the case three months later when Ramona identified Stanton in an identification parade.
Moreover, even though there were inconsistencies and discrepancies in Ramona Sanasie’s testimony during the preliminary inquiry, the magistrate said she left that for a jury to determine whether or not to believe her.
Under the guidance of his attorney Mark Conway, Stanton told the magistrate that he would reserve his witnesses for trial in High court.
Magistrate Ally-Seepaul then committed Stanton to stand trial.
