Man to face re-trial on attempted murder, rape

A NINE-MEMBER jury yesterday failed to agree on a verdict in the trial of a man accused of attempted murder and rape. As such, the man was ordered to go on re-trial.

The 35-year-old gardener of Claxton Bay had been on trial in the San Fernando First Assize Court for raping a 29-year-old woman while she was preparing a mandir for worship by her Hindu pundit. The incident happened in 1997, when according to the charge, the man pounced on the woman while she was preparing the altar for worship. The man is alleged to have slit the woman’s throat, beat her with a piece of wood and then raped her. Justice Paula Mae Weekes and a jury of four women and five men heard the woman testify that she was raped in the mandir. She told the court that she identified the man at an ID parade some 28 days after the alleged incident.

The accused was charged with attempted murder, rape and wounding with intent. The accused submitted an alibi in defence, saying that he was home at the time of the incident which was around 8 am on June 21. His wife testified that he was at home. State Attorneys Joan Paul Honore and Angelica Teelucksingh prosecuted while the accused was represented by attorneys Beecham Maharaj and Ian Seukeran. The jury retired for the mandatory three hours, but when asked if they had reached a verdict on any of the three charges, the foreman replied in the negative. Asked by Justice Mae Weekes if further deliberation would assist them in reaching a verdict, the foreman replied: “No.” Justice Mae Weekes proceeded to take the composition of how the panel was divided. The foreman said that they were divided five-four on all three charges. Since that did not represent a majority verdict, the judge ordered the accused to stand a re-trial.