The trial of Abishai Caesar continued yesterday with his former reputed wife giving evidence and she testified that her then husband had confessed to her that he stabbed Anna Catherina businesswoman Jennifer Persaud and her sons after Persaud woke and recognised him.
Caesar is currently on trial before Justice Brassington Reynolds at the High Court in Georgetown for allegedly murdering Persaud and her sons Afridi Bacchus, 6, and 18-month-old Jadon Persaud, between September 21st and September 22nd, 2012.
State prosecutors Seeta Bishundial and Lisa Cave yesterday called to the stand Zoey Phillips, who, in 2012, with her reputed husband Caesar, resided next door to Persaud. Phillips testified that between September 21st and 22nd, 2012, she and Caesar were asleep in their bedroom when she heard a noise coming from next door, which caused her and the defendant to go to their verandah and they saw three men fighting outside of Persaud’s shop. The woman said that she then saw Persaud come out of the shop and stopped the men from fighting. She said that she was not sure what time it was but both she and Caesar went back to the bedroom. Phillips testified that she heard some more noise and returned to the verandah where she noticed that Persaud’s shop was closed.
The witness told the court that later in their bedroom, Caesar told her that he was going over to “Jenny’s” shop to get some money; it was after midnight. Phillips added that she subsequently accompanied him downstairs to the kitchen in the home, where he collected a small wooden handled knife and a pair of gloves. He was only wearing a green pants at the time. She added that they both went outside through the back door to go to the back of the house where Caesar went through Persaud’s zinc fence, which had a crease in it. Phillips testified that she returned to the bedroom and minutes later, looked through the window where she saw Caesar looking as though he was going upstairs in the home as she could have seen through Jennifer’s window.
The witness further stated that after she saw Caesar going up the stairs in the home, she went back to the bed and fell asleep but subsequently heard what sounded like a female’s scream, which caused her to jump out of her sleep and sit on the bed. She said that minutes later, she heard Caesar call for her as she was still in bed. Phillips said that she then went downstairs into the kitchen and opened the back door of the house and the defendant then came in with a small cardboard beer box stating that that was all he got. She recalled that the box had money in $20 and $100 bills, which amounted to about $3,000.
Phillips told the court that Caesar said to her that he had to kill Persaud because she woke up and saw him and knows him very well. She further stated that he told her that when he was stabbing Persaud, the woman’s older son woke up and saw him so he killed the boy and also the baby. She recounted that Caesar returned with the knife and the gloves that he left with, and both items were covered in blood. The pants he was wearing had spots of blood on it as well.
Phillips detailed that Caesar told her that they should go out to the seawall and they subsequently did so and he took the knife and threw it into the water. They later went down the street where he took the gloves and pants that he was wearing at the time and threw them into some bushes. Phillips said that they then returned home and went back to bed.
According to Phillips, a few years later, on April 23rd, 2016, she was still residing with the accused but at Tuschen. She testified that she went to the Tuschen police outpost and made a report against Caesar and also sought a restraining order. Phillips said that when she asked for the restraining order, Caesar was arrested the following day. She recounted being questioned by the police as to why she wanted to have a restraining order taken out against him and she related what Caesar told her. The woman explained that a confrontation was held between herself and Caesar where she told him that he killed “Jenny and her two children” to which he responded that she was “lying on” him. Phillips told the court that that was the first time she told the police about what Caesar had done. She added that she waited that long as she was always afraid of him because he was abusive to her.
At the hearing yesterday, the witness was shown photographs which were previously tendered as evidence.
The trial is expected to continue today as Phillips is expected to be cross-examined by Caesar’s attorney, Maxwell McKay.
