2 witnesses testify as trial continues

Linden woman’s murder

The trial against Clarence Carter who is accused of stabbing his reputed wife, Leolyn Sullivan, to death at Phase 1B Wisroc, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on Monday, January 18, 2016, continued before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The defendant is representing himself in the case. Two witnesses who were the couple’s neighbours were called by the prosecution to testify. The first witness, Melinda Isaacs Moore, testified that on the day in question, she was awakened by the sounds of crying and a loud banging on her door. Upon checking, she realised it was the daughter of the deceased, Saskia Lewis, and her neighbour Husbert Johnson.

Moore said after she enquired as to what the matter was, Lewis responded, “Mr Clarkey killing us, he killing mommy and he killing us”. After venturing outside, Moore said she observed the deceased lying at the back of her yard covered in blood; she then tried to keep the now dead woman awake by calling out her name.

Moore went on to tell the court that someone acquired a vehicle which then took the injured woman to hospital. Afterwards, Moore told the court that she and the said neighbour, Johnson, then went to check on the couple’s other children at the home in which the couple shared. There, they were confronted by Carter who then asked for the deceased.

Moore said she informed him that Sullivan was at the hospital, to which he responded “she got to dead, four months now she got a man in town”. Moore said she was then informed by Carter – whom she had known for about 15 years – that the children were upstairs and when she ventured inside, she observed that the house was covered in blood and the louvers were broken.

The witness also testified to seeing the deceased’s daughter, Shemika with blood on her body when the vehicle came to take the deceased to hospital. She also recalled that Carter was bleeding when she spoke to him at his home.

In cross-examining the witness, the accused asked the witness what the deceased was wearing at the time that she observed her covered in blood, to which she explained that she did not see clearly, but observed that it was something short. The witness stated that she gave the Police a statement on the matter to which she signed her name.

The second witness, Husbert Jones, was also called to take the stand on Wednesday, and he testified that on the day in question, he was awakened by his wife and as he got out of bed, he heard someone screaming, “Help, help, help”. He then observed the deceased’s daughter Saskia Lewis in Melinda Isaacs Moore’s yard. Johnson told the court that he jumped off his landing and enquired from Lewis what was happening to which she noted “Like uncle Carter want kill mommy”.

After being told where Carter and the deceased were, the witness said he ran to the back of the yard and stopped about 10 feet away, when he saw Carter on top of the deceased, “launching the last stab”. The witness said he observed the defendant with a long Rambo knife, which was about 12 inches in length. Upon enquiring what the matter was, he said the defendant then got up and walked away.

He further testified of assisting the now deceased woman into the vehicle to be transported to hospital and recalled that as he lifted her from the ground, she was bleeding and crying out for her neck. Johnson further testified that afterwards, when he and Moore spoke to the defendant at his home, he enquired about the deceased. After he was told that she was at the hospital, the witness told the court that the defendant’s “assertion was, she got to dead”. He also testified that he recognised that the defendant, whom he had known for about 12 years, had blood on his clothes at the time. The witness further stated that he gave the Police a statement on the matter to which he signed his name.

The defendant was further remanded to prison and the trial is slated to continue on January 11.