Mahaica man accused of killing neighbour to know fate today

A 50-year-old Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD) man, who is on trial for the murder of his neighbour will know his fate today when a 12-member jury returns from deliberations.
Following his arraignment before Justice Navindra Singh, Forrester Gravesande pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on April 9, 2017, he murdered 49-year-old Courtney Porter.
When his trial commenced on Monday at the Demerara High Court, State Prosecutor Teriq Mohammed called four witnesses: Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh and three Police ranks. Dr Singh gave Porter’s cause of death as brain haemorrhage due to blunt force trauma.
The three police ranks testified to their role in investigating the murder. One of them, Police Constable Daniel Singh testified that during March 2017, he was stationed at the Mahaica Police Station.

He said that he put an allegation to Forrester: “I told him while being armed with a piece of wood, he dealt Courtney Porter several lashes to his head causing him to receive injuries.”
Constable Singh said that Porter replied, “’I ain’t lash no man with no wood, boss’.”
Meanwhile, Police Constable Joel Chisholm said that he carried out duties as crime scene investigator, Police photographer and fingerprint technician.
Media reports are that Porter, a father of three, was reportedly beaten in the head with a piece of wood by Gravesande who had accused him of pulling his wife’s clothes. Following the incident, Porter was hospitalised and his attacker was charged with attempt to commit murder and released on bail.
Porter succumbed two weeks after the beating. Gravesande subsequently fled the area, and was captured in another policing division. The charge against him was upgraded to murder. After a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), in the Magistrate’s Court, he was committed to stand trial for the capital offence.