Couple to know fate for killing PNM MP

THE couple who were on trial for the murder of former PNM MP Roy Richardson, but who threw themselves at the court’s mercy by pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, will know their fate tomorrow.

Rocky Mohammed, 21, and Estina Bedassie, 20, will have their fate decided by High Court judge Malcolm Holdip, for the unlawful killing of Richardson who was also a former Deputy House Speaker and Junior Finance Minister. Richardson’s daughter Vanessa, flew in from England for the trial which was set to start last Monday. The victim, a former Member of Parliament of Point Fortin was found dead at his Point Fortin home on a date unknown, between May 31 and June 3, 2001. He was stabbed five times in the chest and beaten on the head. Mohammed and Bedassie, who were charged with murder pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, when called upon to answer to the murder charge. State prosecutor Brahmananan Dubay accepted their plea.

Yesterday, defence attorneys Gilbert Peterson and Prakash Ramadhar, submitted pleas in mitigation on behalf of Mohammed and Bedassie, respectively. Ramadhar told the court Bedassie suffered physical abuse from her husband, an older man, whom she married while still a teenager. The marriage fell apart and Bedassie’s husband was awarded custody of their child, and Bedassie became the first mother to be ordered by the courts to pay child maintenance. Ramadhar said since committing the crime, the young woman bore the burden of the killing on her conscience daily. “She has had time to reflect and learn from that experience. She is now a changed woman, but still a gentle soul,” Ramadhar told the court. Both Mohammed and Bedassie had clean police records prior to the incident.