Son tells court dead father wanted a cutlass

ST JOSEPH resident Nigel Ramnath yesterday testified under cross-examination that during an argument on August 21, 2001, his father threatened to chop murder-accused Christopher Bryan, even though Bryan had done nothing to cause the argument.

Ramnath also told the court, including the 12- member jury and three alternates, that because of his father’s behaviour he had come to the conclusion that his father was being unreasonable and had tried to stop him from acquiring a cutlass. Ramnath gave this evidence during the trial in which Christopher Bryan, 19, and Dominic Bryan, 17,  are before Justice Paula Mae Weeks in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court charged with murdering Claude Noreiga.

Noreiga was found severely beaten on August 22, 2001 and was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. He died eight days later. In his testimony yesterday, Ramnath, who is self-employed, told the court that his father came to his business place and an argument broke out between them. Also testifying was Ramnath’s common-law wife Elizabeth Charles who was at the scene of the argument. The matter continues today.