Jahryl Reid, 20, a porkknocker who was accused of the April 2014 murder of Mabura businessman Colin McLean, whom he admittedly bludgeoned to death after a scuffle, has been cleared of the capital offence. After the 12-member mix jury returned a not guilty verdict on Tuesday afternoon, Reid broke down in tears and Justice Jo-Ann Barlow told him that he has a second chance now that he is a free man.
Freed: 20-year-old Jahryl Reid
After he was cleared of the murder charge, the young man ran into the arms of his relatives who embraced him tightly before he walked out of the court a free man. Siand Dhurjon served as lead prosecutor in the case while Counsel Madan Kissoon represented the defence.
Earlier in the day, Justice Barlow informed the jury of their responsibility to either convict or free the defendant, by weighing the evidence and testimonies tendered in the case.
Prosecutor Dhurjon and Defence Counsel Madan Kissoon had presented their closing arguments last Thursday. Reid entered a self defence claiming that around 04:00h that fateful night, the late businessman had come out of the shower, disrobed and tried to “rape” him. However the prosecution contended that Reid was indeed a “storyteller” who was now trying to justify his crime.
“Mr Reid, you are a storyteller… [your] whole story is a lie,” Dhurjon had posited, to which the defendant responded in the negative.
The murder accused who took the stand last week had however explained that the late McLean, who was much bigger in stature, pinned him down and grabbed his hands but he managed “to wriggle out” of his grip.
“Afterwards he was pushing me but I manage to get away,” the young man had noted.
According to reports that surfaced when the crime occurred two years ago, Reid and McLean had a heated exchange at Mabura, Upper Demerara River, after which the businessman was dealt several lashes across the head with a piece of wood.
McLean died after receiving treatment at the Mackenzie Hospital. A post-mortem examination revealed he died as a result of blunt trauma to the head.
