The two remaining witnesses in the murder of 40-year-old Deonarine Manbodh, also called “Ramesh”, on Wednesday took the stand at the Demerara High Court before Justice Navindra Singh and a 12-member jury.
Twenty-two-year-old Jonathan Budhan is accused of murdering Manbodh on October 25, 2016. The accused is represented by Attorney Nigel Hughes in association with Kezia Williams and Ronald Daniels. Meanwhile, the Prosecutors are Tuanna Hardy, Teriq Mohammed, and Abigail Gibbs.
The aunt of the accused, in her testimony, told the court that prior to Ramesh’s demise, she would frequently get complaints from her nephew about the victim’s offensive behaviour towards him. She noted that although this was the case, the accused did not retaliate.
Meanwhile, under cross-examination the court heard that on the day of the incident, the accused arrived home in tears and related what had occurred on his way home. According to the witness, the accused related that he was embarrassed and assaulted by the now deceased man because he accompanied his niece home.
It was further disclosed that after that confrontation, the now deceased man, as he was annoyed by the incident, visited the home of the witness, which resulted in a scuffle between the accused and the victim. During the scuffle, Manbodh was lashed to his head with a bat by the accused. The witness also admitted that she was aware that the victim had died several days after the incident occurred.
On the other hand, Meena Manbodh, 20, the niece of the now deceased man, admitted to the court that she and the accused shared a relationship. She further stated that on the day of the incident, she witnessed her uncle embarrassing and pushing Budhan, but he did not retaliate and walked away.
While under cross-examination, the witness hesitantly admitted that Budhan would complain to her regarding the names he would be called by her uncle; nevertheless, she denied that she ever witnessed any of these incidents prior to October 25, 2016.
On conclusion of the testimony, both the defence lawyers and State Prosecutors made their final submissions to both Justice Singh and the empanelled jury.
The case will continue on May 17 when the accused is expected to know his fate.
