Essequibo woman to stand trial for killing older partner

A 50-year-old woman has been committed to stand trial for killing her older partner. Radha Sukwah, a domestic worker of Charity Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, was initially charged with the offence of manslaughter on August 10, 2018.

It is alleged that she unlawfully killed 73-year-old Deonarine (only name given), also known as “Russian” on August 3, 2018, at his house. She has not been required to plead to the indictable charge.
Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) on Monday, Magistrate Esther Sam, presiding at the Charity Magistrate’s Court, ruled that sufficient evidence was made out against Sukwah to put her on trial by a jury before a Judge.
Accordingly, the accused killer was committed to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Essequibo Criminal Assizes.
Sukwah was represented by Attorney-at-Law Motie Singh. Attorney-at-Law Bernard DaSilva was granted a fiat by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecute the case. In the meantime, the accused remains on $400,000 bail.
The elderly man was shot and killed on August 3, 2018, at his Pomeroon house. Initially, Sukwah had reportedly told the Police that the man was shot by an intruder who had attempted to kill him during a robbery.

However, during the investigation, the detectives recognised some inconsistencies in the woman’s statements, and as such, she was transported to the Major Crimes Investigation Unit, Eve Leary, Georgetown, where she was further interrogated.
After a few hours, she allegedly confessed to the crime, claiming that she was defending herself.  In a detailed account of what took place, she claimed that on the night of the murder, Deonarine collected her from her home and took her to his house.
While there, she made dinner and they ate after which they retired to bed. After having sexual intercourse, an argument ensued between the couple after she refused to have sex with him for a second time.
The argument, she told detectives, escalated, and the farmer reportedly armed himself with a knife and threatened to kill her if she did not comply with his request.
This led to a scuffle between them, resulting in the woman being injured as she attempted to take the weapon. The knife, she told detectives, fell to the floor, and in retaliation, the elderly man ran to the lower flat of the house, where he collected the firearm from a secured safe and returned. She attempted to take the gun from him, but it went off, mortally wounding him.
After the incident, she reportedly got rid of the weapon and raised an alarm, claiming that the elderly man was shot during a robbery. The pensioner was rushed to the Charity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.