Murder accused says no to fingerprinting

DESPITE two orders from Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls that the fingerprints of murder accused Colin Edgehill be taken, Edgehill remains adamant in his  refusal to have his prints taken by the police. Edgehill and another man, Marcus Marshall, are jointly charged with the October 27 murder of 60-year-old Russell Govia of Cascade Road, Cascade. Govia, a father of three, was shot at about 8.30 pm outside his home when he came out of his car to open the gate. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. The men were charged by Sgt Isaac of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Port-of-Spain.

When Edgehill appeared before McNicolls at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Eighth Court on Monday, the matter was stood down and he was ordered by the magistrate to go to the ground floor of the St Vincent Street courthouse to have his prints taken. However, shortly after, Edgehill was brought back to the Eighth Court, where McNicolls was informed that the fingerprints could not be taken at the courthouse. Edgehill’s attorney, Ian Brooks, had argued that his client was a “guest of the state” and the prints could only be taken after an application was made to and approved by Commissioner of Prisons, Leo Abraham. In addition, Brooks questioned how his client could have been imprisoned without having his fingerprints taken. Yesterday, police prosecutor Acting Insp Kenneth Cordner informed McNicolls that the letter of application had been forwarded to Abraham and the prosecution was awaiting a response. “The bureaucracy is still ongoing,” said Cordner. He added that the inquiry was expected to begin at the end of January. Edgehill and Marshall will re-appear in court on January 16.