2022 fiery death of Berbice woman: ‘He pushed me onto the stove’ – son tells court injured mother related to him

The murder trial of Corentyne resident Dipnarine Seelall continued on Wednesday with a son of the deceased testifying that his badly burnt mother told him that her husband had pushed her onto a stove.

The evidence was given before Justice Gino Persaud and a jury in the High Court, where Seelall, also known as “Narei”, is on trial for the murder of his wife, 42-year-old Tavita Natasha Lall.
The State is being represented by attorney-at-law Merissa Edwards, while attorney-at-law Vinay Punwa is appearing for the accused.
Among the witnesses taking the stand on Wednesday were Lall’s sons, other relatives, her mother, Bamela Lall and Police Constable Christopher Birch.
One of the deceased woman’s sons, Likram Ramanand, testified that Seelall had been living with his mother at Number 64 Village, Corentyne.
Ramanand recalled seeing his mother at his grandmother’s home on the afternoon before the incident. He later received a call from another sibling informing him that his mother had been burnt.
When he arrived, Ramanand told the court, he found his mother naked and suffering from burns which extended from her head to her shoulders.
He said he assisted in putting clothing on her and used a sheet to cover her before he and other relatives helped her downstairs. She was then taken to her mother’s home, where a taxi was summoned to transport her to hospital.

Crying in pain
Asked about the whereabouts of Seelall at the time, Ramanand testified that the accused was standing in the verandah and cursing.
The witness further testified that while his mother was crying in pain, she rested her head on his shoulder and spoke to him in a low voice.
According to Ramanand, his mother told him that “Naresh” had pushed her onto the stove.

“Fight for her life”
During cross-examination by Punwa, Ramanand was questioned about the relationship between his mother and the accused.
He testified that when he had met his mother at his grandmother’s home earlier that afternoon, she told him she would “fight for her life” and complained that her husband was always accusing her.
Ramanand acknowledged that there had been problems between the couple but said he did not know the nature of those problems because his mother and Seelall lived alone.
The defence also pursued a separate line of questioning when the deceased’s mother, Bamela Lall, took the witness stand.
Under cross-examination, Lall acknowledged that her daughter had previously displayed suicidal behaviour.
She testified that on one occasion her daughter had ingested pills in an attempt to take her own life. She also acknowledged another incident involving a weedicide several months before the January 2022 incident.
The deceased’s mother was further questioned about what transpired while her badly injured daughter was being transported by ambulance.
During cross-examination, she said that while in the ambulance, her daughter put her hands together and asked her mother to forgive her for what she had done.
Another of Lall’s sons, Omesh Singh, was among the family members who testified on Wednesday.
Police Constable Christopher Birch also took the witness stand. His evidence related to the arrest of the accused.
The prosecution had earlier told the jury that the burden rests entirely on the State to prove the murder charge beyond reasonable doubt and that Seelall has no obligation to prove his innocence or give evidence.
The State is seeking to establish that Seelall caused the injuries suffered by Lall and that those injuries resulted in her death.
Lall, a mother of four and a cleaner at Tagore Memorial Secondary School, sustained severe burn injuries at her Number 64 Village home on January 14, 2022.
She was initially taken for medical treatment in Berbice before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where she was treated in the Burn Care Unit.
She died on February 22, 2022, approximately five weeks after sustaining the injuries.
Seelall had initially been charged with attempted murder following the incident. The charge was subsequently upgraded to murder following his wife’s death.
The trial is continuing.