Manslaughter accused to know fate Tuesday

A TOCO man on charges of motor manslaughter and dangerous driving will spend the weekend wondering what turn his life will take on Tuesday, when the nine-member jury before whom he was tried will return a verdict. Brian Browne, 23, of Big Bay, San Souci, Toco, is before Madame Justice Alice Yorke Soo-Hon charged with the unlawful killing of 34-year-old Cecilia “Vena” Bousignac and her children — Crystal, 11, Christopher, 7 and Cleveland Jnr, 4, after the car he was driving crashed into them on the Toco Main Road on the morning of March 23, 1999.

In his closing address to the panel yesterday, Browne’s attorney Israel Khan SC urged them to listen to their conscience when deciding the young man’s fate, because manslaughter was a serious charge of negligence. Khan’s defence was that the Browne had fallen asleep at the wheel for a split second, which resulted in the deaths of the four members of the family.