The fate of three men charged with murdering a couple from East Dry River in 2005 will be decided on Friday.
A 12-member jury before Justice Maria Wilson was expected to deliberate on the case at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain, on Thursday, but the case had to be adjourned as Wilson had not completed her summation of the legal issues in the case by 4 pm.
When Wilson completes the process today, the jury will be given up to four hours in which to come up with a unanimous verdict for each accused.
Kamau Farai, Hamid Neils and Devon Sookoo were on trial before Wilson charged with murdering Susan Rajcoomar, 51, and her 52-year-old husband Shyam Ramdass at their home at Oxford Street, Port-of-Spain, on January 12, 2005.
According to the evidence presented in the case, Rajcoomar’s son Johan was standing in the yard when he was confronted by three men and shot in his head. Rajcoomar came outside upon hearing the gunshot and was attacked.
She was shot four times and chopped on her head, neck and hands and died within minutes. While the men were standing over his mother, Johan claimed that he managed to scurry away and hide at a neighbouring property.
From that location, he testified he saw when the men shot Ramdass and severed his left hand. Ramdass died while receiving treatment at the hospital.
Johan survived the attack and served as the State’s main witness in the case. Although he was murdered in 2017, his testimony from the preliminary inquiry in the case was tendered into evidence during the trial.
All three men testified in their defence and brought witnesses to corroborate their alibis.
Farai claimed that he was helping a friend, whose mother died the night before, while Neils claimed that he was helping his father construct a chicken coup in their yard.
Sookoo, a PH taxi driver, claimed that he was dropping his nephews and nieces to school when the murder occurred.
During his evidence, Farai also admitted that he was jointly charged with Johan for a separate offence. However, Farai denied threatening to kill Johan’s parents and burn down their home because he provided a statement to police in their case.
Farai is being represented by Larry Williams and Chelsea John, while Neils is being represented by Ravi Rajcoomar (no relation). Sookoo is being represented by Kirk Hogan.