Tobago murder inquiry stalled

Preliminary inquiry into a murder charge against a Bethel man accused of killing schoolteacher Evelyn James did not begin on Tuesday in the Scarborough First Court as scheduled. A defence attorney, who had agreed to represent the accused pro bono (without charge), withdrew from the matter. Gaston Benjamin said he was forced to withdraw because of a heavy workload which was made more problematic by the delays in getting the matter started. This drew a sharp response from Senior Magistrate Annette McKenzie, who appeared visibly upset and said, “I cannot always manage my court to suit attorneys.” Benjamin drew the court’s attention to the fact that while the matter had been set for 1 pm, it was actually being called more than an hour later. The magistrate, however, acknowledged that while this was so, the court had been occupied with a matter until 12.30 pm. “I must eat and my note-taker must also eat!” she asserted.

The magistrate added that he had always been referring to the fact that he was doing the matter pro bono and he could withdraw if that is what he wanted to do, but she had a problem with the wrong impression being created. Benjamin had noted when on September 9 before another magistrate he had agreed to represent the accused Jeffrey Guy free of charge, he had made it clear this had to be when he was in Tobago and not engaged in other matters. “It has become impossible for me to find time, having regard to my schedule, to do this matter; I have to withdraw,” he stated. He then hurriedly left the courtroom. In his absence, State prosecutor Nizam Khan said the State had always been ready to proceed since he was assigned to the case. On the other hand, Khan said the accused had always been unrepresented. The State prosecutor indicated he wanted these facts recorded by the court for certain reasons. Guy is accused of murdering the victim at the Montgomery Govern-ment Primary School in Bethel on February 19, 2003.