Eustace Griffith who had been accused of killing Stabroek Market handyman Steven Arthur was yesterday freed after Justice Navindra Singh upheld a no-case submission made by his attorney.
Following the submission, the judge directed the jury to formally return a verdict of not guilty and Griffith was informed that he was freed of the capital charge.
Griffith’s trial which commenced on Tuesday heard testimonies from police investigators that he had confessed to stabbing Arthur, stating that during a fight Arthur first pierced him with an icepick and he in turn stabbed him.
Among the witnesses who testified were two persons who said that it was Griffith who stabbed the deceased, Arthur, but their stories varied when cross-examined, as they admitted that they were not paying attention to what had transpired at the time Arthur was said to have been stabbed.
Police Inspector Rodwell Sarabo and Detective Corporal Rawle Bacchus both corroborated each other’s evidence that after the allegation was put to him Griffith said that he had gone to Stabroek Market to purchase ground provisions when he encountered Arthur. According to the lawmen, Griffith told them that while at the market he saw Arthur smoking and he (Griffith) enquired why he was watching him.
The police officers said that Griffith then related to them that Arthur pelted him with banana peel at which point they began fighting during which Arthur stabbed him with an icepick and he in-turn stabbed him.
The Inspector said Griffith had told him that he had stabbed Arthur with a knife which he threw away in the vicinity of Demico House. Sarabo said that the area was searched, but nothing was found.
It was the defence’s contention that the police had not written down the entirety of the story Griffith narrated to them.
Purported eyewitnesses Vidish Persaud and Bhopaul Gopaul—ground provision sellers—each said in their evidence-in-chief that it was Griffith who had stabbed Arthur.
When pressed under cross-examination, however, both agreed that while they heard the two men arguing and engrossed in an altercation, they were paying attention to selling their customers and did not see at the material time when Arthur fell to the ground, how, or by whom his injuries were inflicted.
Testifying before the close of the prosecution’s case yesterday was Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh who said that Arthur died of perforation of the lung due to a stab wound.
Griffith was accused of murdering Arthur on the morning of July 4th, 2016 at Hadfield Street, Georgetown.
