GPHC dispatcher’s murder
The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) employee Mellisa Skeete, commenced on Tuesday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, before Magistrate Fabayo Azore.
The 55-year-old accused, Alan Sim, of Lot 860 Paradise Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (ECD), who worked as a taxi driver, is charged for the November 23, 2015, murder of Skeete.
In court on Tuesday, Police Sergeant Raul Nedd, attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, took the stand to give evidence about his qualifications which have made him an expert in criminal investigations and management – and skilled to execute his duties in this matter.
Defence Attorney Latchmie Rahamat, made it clear in court that the Sergeant has not proven to the court that he is qualified. She highlighted that although the Sergeant is in receipt of multiple certificates, none of them provide any details of his specialty.
Sergeant Nedd provided the court with several certificates of training completed in Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America, Russia and many others locally.
Rahamat contended that the Sergeant is not an expert in Criminal Investigation, but a mere crime scene technician, who collects evidence, tags it and hands it over to the forensic laboratory.
Sergeant Nedd will take the stand for the continuation of his testimony on September 28 when the PI continues.
Late last year, Police Prosecutor Steven Telford told the court that Sim and the 33-year-old woman were in a common-law relationship, which produced a child. According to Telford, the now dead woman worked at the GPHC as an ambulance dispatcher and on the day in question, the accused picked her up after work about 15:00h in his motorcar, PRR 6801.
Telford also related that 30 minutes later, the woman was found in the vicinity of Carmichael Street bleeding profusely as a result of several stab wounds about her body. She was picked up by public spirited citizens and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she succumbed while undergoing emergency treatment.
The Prosecutor told the court that the man reportedly confessed to the murder, and his car was recovered. The Police have reported that the passenger seat had been replaced, presumably in an attempt to cover up the crime, the Court heard. In his alleged confession, Sim reportedly told investigators that Skeete attacked him and in self-defence, he killed her.
