After 2nd trial: Skull City woman acquitted of uncle’s murder

After facing her second trial at the High Court in Demerara, 41-year-old Vishawantie Ragnauth has been found not guilty of the capital offence of murder committed on her uncle Sunil Ramsundar on Boxing Day of 2014 at Skull City, Patentia, West Bank Demerara.
After over two hours of deliberation, a mixed 12-member jury on Wednesday, February 22, returned with a unanimous verdict of not guilty, thereby freeing her of her uncle’s murder.
Particulars of the charge that Vishawantie had faced stated that on Boxing Day 2014 at Skull City, Patentia (WBD), she murdered Sunil Ramsundar, her 39-year-old uncle. Her trial was conducted by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.
In light of the jury’s findings, Ragnauth was informed by the trial Judge that she was discharged, and would be released from prison as soon as prison officials process her.

The mother of three was represented by defence lawyer George Thomas, while State Counsel Marisa Edwards, Tanesha Saigon, Abiola Lowe and Delon Fraser had prosecuted the matter.
Ragnauth and her reputed husband Nyron Thakurdyal had first been tried for this murder in 2018, and had been found guilty by the jury. They had each been sentenced to 40 years in prison by Justice Sandil Kissoon.
The couple later appealed their convictions and sentences to the Court of Appeal of Guyana, and last year that Court quashed the trial court’s ruling and ordered that Ragnauth face a new trial. Thakurdyal, a father of six, had died in prison while awaiting the hearing of his appeal.
In quashing the High Court’s ruling, the three Justices of Appeal had, among other things, cited several misdirections by the trial Judge. No orders were made by the appellate court in relation to Thakurdyal.
The facts of the matter detailed that Ramsundar was killed after he attempted to settle a dispute between his sister, his niece Ragnauth, and his niece’s reputed husband Thakurdyal.
At about 22:00h on that fateful night, Ramsundar’s sister was assaulted by her daughter Ragnauth and her daughter’s partner, Thakurdyal. Ramsundar had asked his sister why she was crying, and upon learning about the assault, had approached his niece for an explanation.
That intervention had quickly turned into a heated argument, during which Ramsundar was stabbed about his body. Thakurdyal had held down the man while his wife Ragnauth had stabbed him.
Ramsundar had collapsed on the spot, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
After the duo had stabbed Ramsundar, in their bid to get away, they had flagged down a passing car. That vehicle had happened to be that of an off-duty Policeman who reportedly heard Thakurdyal telling someone via his cell phone that he had just “jook up” someone.
The cop had then driven Thakurdyal and Ragnauth to the Wales Police Station, where they were subsequently arrested. At the time of his arrest, the late Thakurdyal was reportedly found with a knife in his possession.
Meanwhile, the pathologist, in his testimony, gave Ramsundar’s cause of death as shock and haemorrhage due to a stab wound to his neck.
The pathologist had told the jury that there were also injuries to Ramsundar’s right forearm, right chest, left part of the neck, and jaw, noting that a puncture to an artery had caused excessive blood loss.