Lennox Wayne and Melroy Doris, the two men charged with murdering Lusignan beautician Ashmini Harriram, will have to face a retrial after a jury was unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict yesterday.
After about six hours of deliberations, during which further directions were sought once, the forewoman announced that the jury was divided on the guilt of the men for the capital charge.
When the Registrar initially asked the forewoman whether the jury had arrived at a verdict in relation to Wayne, called ‘Two Colours,’ she answered in the affirmative, saying that he had been found not guilty. When asked if the verdict was unanimous, her response was the same. However, after the final enquiry was made for the formal recording of the verdict, as to whether not-guilty was the verdict of all 12 jurors, the forewoman said it was not.
Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, who presided over the trial, then intervened and explained the meaning of a unanimous verdict—that all 12 jurors would have agreed.
The judge explained further that once they all did not agree on the verdict for the capital offence, it would mean that they were unable to arrive at a verdict, resulting in a hung jury.
Apologising to the court for the initial misunderstanding, the forewoman clarified that not all jurors were in agreement with the not guilty verdict.
Wayne, who moments earlier seemed visibly relieved, appeared downcast and visibly distressed at this point.
When asked about the verdict in relation to Doris, whose countenance was expressionless, the forewoman again indicated that the jury was again unable to arrive at a consensus.
Justice Barlow then informed the two defendants that they would be remanded to prison to await a retrial.
The charge against them is that on July 10, 2014, at Lusignan Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara, they murdered Harriram.
Doris, a taxi driver, according to a caution statement (CS) that he did not deny giving to the police, had said that on the day in question, he was hired by Wayne, who asked to be transported to Lusignan.
Upon arrival in the area, Doris said they passed two girls at a corner and just then Wayne asked him to stop the vehicle.
According to Doris’ statement, which had been read to the court, after the vehicle came to a halt, “Two Colours” whipped out a gun, exited the car, and shot one of the two girls.
It was Harriram, called “Munesha,” who was fatally shot.
After the shooting, Doris said, “Two Colours” returned to the car, placed the gun to his head, and ordered him to drive.
According to a caution statement which police say Wayne gave to them, however, he allegedly said it was Doris who had approached him with the hit. Wayne, however, vehemently denied ever giving the statement to police.
The court heard from the CS, which was tendered and read in court, that Doris, with whom Wayne had become acquainted one month before the killing, told him of a “work” he wanted him, [Wayne] to get done.
The statement quotes Wayne as saying that after joining Doris’ car on the day in question, Doris retrieved a nickel-coloured handgun from beneath the seat and handed it to him.
After arriving at a location at Lusignan, the court heard that Doris had pointed out one of two girls to Wayne, drove close to where they were and stopped the car—Wayne then exited and shot Harriram in the head, before grabbing her cellphone.
According to the statement, Wayne allegedly said they then fled the scene. He also reportedly said that Doris had promised to pay him $2.5 million for the job, but he never received any money.
As the CS was being read during the trial, Harriram’s mother, who attended every hearing, quietly broke into tears.
When called upon to lead their respective defences, however, both men professed their innocence in unsworn testimony from the prisoner’s dock.
For his part, Doris stuck to his previous story that it was Wayne who had shot and killed the young woman.
Wayne, however, had denied the assertions made by his co-accused, maintaining that he had absolutely nothing to do with the young woman’s murder.
Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh had testified that Harriram died of respiratory failure due to gunshot injuries to the spine.
He explained that the bullet had entered through her mouth, passed under the base of her skull and exited through the back of her head, severing her spine in the process.
Wayne was represented by attorney Nigel Hughes, while Doris was represented by attorney Stanley Moore. The state’s case, meanwhile, was led by Prosecutor Tamieka Clarke in association with Shawnette Austin.
