Boxing Day Patentia murder accused say deceased was aggressor

cross-examination he had accepted that that cut could have also been caused by the fence.

‘Scramble’

Meanwhile, Ragnauth, in her unsworn statement, said yesterday that on the day in question, her uncle had come to her house; once in the afternoon, around 2.30 to 3 pm, asking for her mother, from whom he wanted money, and then again around 8.30 to 9 pm.

At that time, she was reportedly speaking with Thakurdyal. She related that her uncle appeared to have been drinking and was swearing. He left again but came back, and she said that when he called for her she went out.

Ragnauth said Ramsundar “scramble” her into a fence, and when she began to scream, Thakurdyal went out and pulled him away from her. When he did so, she said her uncle fell into the fence.

Following the altercation, Ragnauth said they left to go to the police station to report the matter and after walking some time, flagged down a car and told the person to take them there.

Ragnauth testified that they had no knife or phone in their possession.

Thakurdyal, similarly in his statement, said he heard Ragnauth screaming and ran out. He said he found her braced against the fence with her hands up and he grabbed Ramsundar’s hands and told him to let her go. He stated that when he let go of Ramsundar, the man fell towards the fence.

He too repeated that they left to go to the police station to report the matter, and denied that they had any knife or phone on them at the time.

Last week, Lance Corporal Benjamin La Fleur recounted giving the two accused a lift and hearing one of them speaking about having stabbed someone.

La Fleur said that he was heading home after attending a family function when he saw the two frantically running along the road. He said shortly after returning home, he went back out and saw the accused still standing on the road.

As it was after 10 that night, he said he decided to give them a drop out of the Patentia Housing Scheme as he knew Ragnauth, who also resided in the community. He said he stopped his vehicle and they both went into the back seat.

He said he then overheard a telephone conversation Thakurdyal was having with someone, during which he uttered the words, “pick me up at de park. One a dem get stupid and I juk he up.”

La Fleur, who said he was off-duty at the time and dressed in civilian clothing, related to the court that he did not engage either of the two in any conversation and neither did they engage him. He added that he drove them into the compound of the Wales Police Station, which was located a short distance away.

There, he said, he reported to the officer-in-charge what he had heard and the two accused were later taken into the station for questioning. He said at the time he had offered them the lift, he was unaware that Ramsundar had been stabbed and had died.

The matter has been adjourned until tomorrow at 9.30 am, when Justice Sandil Kissoon will sum up the case.