Latest update May 13th, 2024 12:59 AM
Dec 05, 2012 News
Cyon Collier called ‘Picture Boy’ may know his fate tomorrow as the murder trial’s 12-member jury gets set for deliberations. The prosecution, headed by Senior State Counsel Judith Gildharie-Mursalin, yesterday presented the closing address before Justice Diana Insanally at the Supreme Court.
Collier is being tried for the 2006 murder of Victoria, East Coast Demerara residents Ray Walcott called ‘Sugar’ and his brother Carl Andrews called ‘Alo’. Collier reportedly used an AK-47 rifle to take the men’s life.
On Monday, Defence Counsel Lyndon Amsterdam presented a five -hour- long closing argument as to why his client should be found innocent of the murder charge laid against him in October 2006. While several witnesses testified on behalf of the prosecution, Amsterdam focused his attention on the prosecution reportedly having no evidence against Collier.
He argued that the bulk of the prosecution’s evidence had no warrant, while seeking to discredit and devalue the testimony of the police. Amsterdam also sought to make invalid the evidence presented by civilians, those in particular who claimed to have had direct contact with Collier on the day of the alleged offence.
In reply, the state, in an almost two-hour address, said yesterday that adequate evidence existed to get a conviction for the accused. Prosecutor Gildharie-Mursalin highlighted various aspects of the evidence, which according to her, needed to be viewed meticulously.
The jury was urged to scrutinize in reflection, the evidence of the police officers who took the witness box, statements given by the accused, the evidence of those who were present during the incident and those to whom Collier reportedly confessed.
The prosecutor, in reply to accusations by Amsterdam on inconsistent police evidence, noted that none of the officers or the civilian witnesses was discredited. She pointed out that it is simple human nature that one person should remember more than the other in relation to the incident, while pointing out that the policemen’s evidence did not conflict.
The defence stated that the police had fabricated the statement against Collier and had beaten him to sign the document. The prosecution however said that the police could not have created a story against Collier since they, like the rest of the community, were not aware of any issue between the deceased and the accused which would have led to murder.
In relation to civilian witnesses, Gildharie-Mursalin lingered on the value of their testimony. She related that the witnesses were known to Collier and as far as the evidence showed, they had no conflict with the accused, thus giving them no purpose to concoct lies against him.
The accused, she said, committed the act without a mask, which made it easy for him to be identified. She described the crime as being a “brazen, barefaced” act.
The statements, she said, were given voluntarily by the accused and in those documents, Collier reportedly confessed that, “They wrong me so they had to dead.”
Collier listened attentively, with his eyes fixed on the prosecutor. In her final statement, Gildharie-Mursalin asked the jury to be “like horses with eyes covered from the distracting activities that happen to their sides”. She asked them to blank out the varying distractions of the case and focus ahead on the evidence provided.
The court is expected to sum up the case on Thursday and then the jury will head to deliberate. They shall remain there until a verdict is reached, that is, if the decision does not take more than a day. The case itself has taken 22 days but jurors have heard 10 days of evidence.
Listen how to run an oil country
May 13, 2024
GCB T10 Blast Semi-finals… Kaieteur Sports – The semi-finals of the GCB T10 Blast will get underway today, barring inclement weather as the final four teams look to book spots in the...Kaieteur News – The PPP is engaging in myth-making in seeking to perpetuate the narrative that it is now an ideologically... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Is it ever justifiable for journalism to fan the flames of geopolitical tension? This question arises... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]