Lennox Wayne, who was on remand for eight years for the 2014 murder of cosmetologist 19-year-old Ashmini Hariram, was on Tuesday acquitted.
Before Demerara High Court Judge Jo Ann Barlow, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty. Wayne was represented by Attorneys-at-Law Ronald Daniels, Kiswana Jefford, and Edriana Stephens.
Murdered: Ashmini Hariram
Testimony began in the trial on June 8 after Wayne, also called “Two Colours”, pleaded not guilty to a charge of the capital offence of murder.
According to the short facts presented in court, the young woman, also known as “Monisha Hariram”, and her cousin were walking along the Lusignan Public Road when they noticed a burgundy Toyota 212 motor car bearing registration number PRR 8370 parked along the said road. A few minutes later, a man emerged from the car, and shot Hariram in her head, before entering the vehicle which then sped off.
It was reported that a tall, brown-skinned man emerged from a burgundy-coloured motor car and relieved Hariram of $8000 before shooting her. An autopsy gave Hariram’s cause of death as respiratory failure and gunshot injuries to the spine.
Media reports are that Wayne gave Police a caution statement detailing his role in the woman’s execution. On September 8, 2014, Wayne was charged with the teenager’s murder; he has been on remand ever since.
Last year, Melroy Doris, who confessed that he was the driver of the getaway car in the killing of Hariram, was sentenced to five years in prison on a manslaughter charge. Initially indicted for the murder of the teenager, the 35-year-old pleaded guilty to the lesser offence after he was arraigned before Justice Brassington Reynolds.
Wayne and Doris were first tried for the offence in 2017. That trial, however, ended in a hung jury. Accordingly, the trial Judge ordered a retrial. Earlier this month, Doris was called to testify against Wayne. The prosecution’s star witness-maintained Wayne shot and killed the young beautician.
During his testimony, Doris told the court that on July 10, 2014, he was at his Bent Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown home when two men, Gavin (only name given) and Wayne approached him. The convicted killer said that at the time he worked a taxi and Wayne hired him to transport him to Lusignan to see his girlfriend.
According to the witness, he agreed to take him to the location. He recalled that Wayne occupied the left passenger seat and that it was the two of them alone in the vehicle. As he began the journey to Lusignan, Doris added that Wayne, whom he did not know prior to the day in question, began questioning him. He recounted that when they reached Lusignan Road, he saw two girls walking along the road. He said that Wayne pointed out one of them and told him that she was his girlfriend. Doris said that Wayne then told him to “pull over” and he complied, after which Wayne exited the car and walked towards the girl he had pointed out as his partner.
Doris said that shortly after he heard a loud explosion which prompted him to look up the road. However, Doris told the court that he then glanced in the right-side rear-view mirror and saw someone lying on the ground in a pool of blood about 12 feet away from him. By the time he turned around, the witness recounted, Wayne was already back in the car and pointing a gun at him, instructing him to drive the car.
