Jury told: Do not let morality and values govern your decision

Addressing the 12 member panel, and Justice Ian Brook in the Port-of-Spain Sixth Criminal Court attorney Sturge spoke about the evidence, parts of which he emphasised in defence of his client, Julia Esmeralda Sellier Ramdeen.

Ramdeen, also known as “J-Lo,” and David Abraham, are on trial for the December 23, 2003, murder of Carlos Phillip, a courier at the National Helicopter Services.

Phillip, a father of two, attended a Christmas party a his work place, but failed to return home. He was allegedly killed at Ramdeen’s apartment on Jerningham Avenue, Charlieville, and then dumped in a pond at Pokhor Road, Longdenville.

Pointing to Ramdeen, Sturge told the jurors, “She was a pimp. She ran a call girl service. “We trinis will say she is a whore. Some of you don’t like people like her. Don’t say she is a whore, equal to Sodom and Gomorrah, and we need to get rid of her. You must judge her according to the evidence, not how you feel about immorality.”

For almost three hours, Sturge held the rapt attention of the jury while using “open and plain” local palance, including obscene language, in order to convince them.

Looking directly at the foreman of the jury Sturge declared,” I don’t know about Villa Capri, and free basing (a method of taking crack cocaine); you may know better than me. I went and read up on the freebasing.

When you are ready to deliberate whether she is guilty or not, you cannot let morals get in the way. You cannot say to yourself that you want to go home, and the others are voting one way so you have to. You must act the way you would want someone to do towards you.

What if this was your brother or sister sitting in the docks, would you want someone to do that to them?”he enquired. Sturge slammed the State’s case and called its eyewitness Junior Bruzual “a liar and someone who had no choice but to stick to his story because of the statutory declaration of immunity hanging over his head.” “A house divided cannot stand,” Sturge added, “the State’s case is divided.

The addresses continue today.