Dhanwantie Phulchand, owner of Rishma’s Collection formerly located in the City Mall, yesterday recounted for a jury the harrowing details of an attack she said she suffered at the hands of Marissa George and John Caesar.
The jointly-charged duo is on trial for attempting to murder the woman on the afternoon of Saturday July 4th, 2009. Their case is being heard by Justice Sandil Kissoon and a 12-member all male jury at the High Court in Georgetown.
Taking the stand yesterday, a visibly shaken Phulchand recalled leaving her home sometime after six that morning and going to do a foreign currency exchange transaction before heading to open her boutique for business that day.
She told the court that sometime after four that afternoon, George, whom she knew as a frequent Saturday visitor to the mall where she danced as a member of a then popular “passa passa” dance group, entered her boutique.
She said the young woman told her that she wanted to purchase pants and was in the process of attempting to assist her with the purchase when just then she said she was going to get her friend to help her make a choice.
Shortly after, the witness said that George returned with Caesar, whom she also knew as a worker in one of the other shops in the mall.
She said that as she spoke with the man, George by that time had already selected a pair of jeans with Caesar’s assistance and had gone into the dressing room to fit it.
The court heard that the female accused came out of the dressing room shortly after and requested a bigger size.
Phulchand said that as she knelt on a low clothes rack to retrieve another pair of jeans for the young woman, she felt a sudden blow to her head which caused her to fall flat on the ground.
The woman said that in shock she would later realise that it was Caesar who was standing over her as he unleashed a beating on her with a heavy object which was concealed in a bag.
The woman said that during the bloodied thrashing, she begged the man to leave her alone while George held her neck down with one of her feet.
The woman said that she urinated herself and begged them to take whatever they wanted, and leave her alone as she was the mother of an infant, but her cries were ignored as the two continued to beat her.
Phulchand said she lost consciousness for some time and after waking up felt for her phone and some cash she had in her pants pockets, but discovered that they were all missing.
She said that the bag into which she had earlier placed money after completing her cambio transaction that morning was lying next to her on the ground but it was empty.
By that time, the witness said that her attackers had already left the store.
The trial continues this morning at 9 with the defence cross-examining the complainant.
Apart from the attempted murder indictment levelled against the accused, they have been charged with the alternative count of wounding the woman with the intention of causing her grievous bodily harm; or to maim, disfigure or disable her.
Additionally, they are also charged with robbing Phulchand of $527,000, a purse and a shirt and being violent to her during the alleged robbery.
The state’s case is being presented by Prosecutor Abigail Gibbs.
George is being represented by attorney Damian Da Silva, while Caesar is represented by Brandon De Santos.
