Defence Attorney Damian Da Silva and State Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial on Thursday presented closing arguments in the case involving Vindra Siriram who has been accused of submerging the head of his common-law wife, Shelly-Ann Persaud, in a five-gallon bucket of water between June 9 and June 10, 2014.
The defence team contended that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused murdered the mother of his three children at their Friendship, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home.
In an unsworn statement before Justice James Bovell-Drakes, the murder accused
Accused: Vindra Siriram
told the court that he loved his wife and also wanted to know who killed her, claiming that he was beaten by the Police. In addition, he stated at a garbage bag was placed over his head and was forced to sign a caution statement.
Siriram claimed that in fact, on the morning of June 10, he woke up and found his wife in that position and immediately called out to a neighbour. This, he contended, is evidence of his innocence.
“I did not kill my wife. I wake up and saw her like that…. If I killed my wife, I would never sit down home and cry.” This he claimed he told the Police at the Ruimveldt Police Station.
He added that a rank told him that “people like me don’t deserve to live in society and you’re going to go to jail for the rest of your life”. The defendant also stated that on the Monday before the murder, after work, the bus stopped at Herstelling, EBD, where he and some co-workers drank at a rum shop before leaving around 19:00h.
Siriram noted that after he reached home, an argument erupted between him and his wife during which he was hit to the wrist. He added that after his daughter parted them, he went and “get knock-out” and woke up around 02:00h the following day.
The accused went on to add that the back door was left open and as he looked outside, he saw his wife lying face down in the five-gallon bucket of water.
The defendant further explained to the court that after hollering for “Shell!” and no getting a response, he called out to a neighbour, “Aunty Iris”, ‘“please come and
Deceased: Shelly-Ann Persaud
see how I wake up and see Shelly”.
“I asked her to call the Police and she asked: ‘Did you do this?’ and I told her, ‘I did not kill Shelly’,” he told the jury.
Siriram added that he went across the road and spoke to Shelly-Ann’s father, Ovin Morris and “Seon” and told them, “Come and see how I wake up and see Shelly.”
Prosecutor Bishundial, however, impressed upon the jury members that they should not be fooled by Siriram’s story, adding that it was built on convenient explanations.
She recalled the testimony of Persaud’s sister, Sherry-Ann, who witnessed the accused slapping her sister in front of others. Witnesses, including the couple’s young daughter, testified that Siriram and Persaud would often fight.
The pathologist testified that there were marks of violence about the body and signs of compression as if someone forced her down.
Persaud who had known Siriram since she was 13 was said to have dropped out of school during the relationship. The jury is expected to deliberate on Tuesday afternoon. (Shemuel Fanfair)
