Man, 21, kills prostitute for $40

A 21-year-old man who stabbed a 42-year-old prostitute to death in St James two and a half years ago, pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing yesterday.

But Nicholas Mitchell will know his fate tomorrow when Justice Melville Baird passes sentence. Mitchell, of David Street, St James, appeared before Justice Baird in the Port-of-Spain First Criminal Court charged with the murder of Tazmoon Kamaludin, also called Jennifer Mohammed, at Alfred Richards Street, St James, on March 1, 2001. Mitchell pleaded guilty to the lesser count yesterday and the State accepted the plea. Osbourne Charles SC and Ravi Rajcoomar appeared for Mitchell, while attorney Althea Alexis represented the State. The charge was laid by Sgt Nandram Moonilal of the St James CID. Mitchell, who was 19 at the time of the killing, gave a confession statement to the police in which he outlined how Kamaludin was fatally stabbed. Another man who was involved in the attack on the prostitute became a prosecution witness.

According to the confession statement, Mitchell said that on February 28, 2001, he was at his uncle’s home at David Street, St James, with his two cousins. Sometime later, they became hungry and decided to go to St James for something to eat. While walking down the road, he saw Jason Cox whom he had known for the past three years. Cox said he was going to visit some friends at Jeffers Lane, St James. On reaching there, an argument broke out between a man and a woman. Mitchell said he saw another woman walking up the street. He called out to her: Family come nah. The woman, later identified as Kamaludin, walked across. Mitchell said that he and Cox wanted sex, to which Kamaludin agreed but it would have cost $40. Mitchell accepted but said he had no condom. The accused called a Rasta named “Roots” and asked him to get a condom which he got from someone in a nearby alley. But Cox wanted to have sex with the woman first. Mitchell said no. Mitchell called Kamaludin, gave her $20, and they went between two trailers and had sex on the ground. After a few minutes, Mitchell got up and changed his mind. Kamaludin got up and dressed herself and walked off. Mitchell threw away the condom. He called the woman and said his partner Cox was ready. Mitchell walked off leaving Cox and the woman chatting. Mitchell waited for Cox. When he found they were taking too long, he went in search of his friend only to find them near a mango tree on Alfred Richards Street.

Cox, he said, grabbed the woman by her neck and told her he wanted his money back. The woman started to fight. She hit Cox and he became angry. Mitchell told Cox to let the woman go because she was screaming loudly and ‘‘making a scene.’’ Cox pulled out a knife from his waist and stabbed the woman on her left side. The knife fell to the ground. Mitchell picked up the knife, but the woman kicked him in his groin. Mitchell said Kamaludin got away and was approaching him, so he stabbed her twice on her back. The woman stumbled but did not fall. Cox and Mitchell ran away. Mitchell said he went home and hid the knife in his latrine. The next morning, he heard that Kamaludin had died.