Having previously been tried and found guilty of murdering her 39-year-old uncle Sunil Ramsundar on Boxing Day of 2014 at Skull City in Patentia, West Bank Demerara, Vishawantie Ragnauth is facing a retrial at the High Court, after her initial conviction had been set aside by the Court of Appeal (CoA) of Guyana last year.
On Wednesday morning, February 8, 2023, she was arraigned on this murder charge before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the High Court in Demerara; her retrial is currently ongoing.
Attorney George Thomas is appearing on her behalf, while the prosecution’s case is being presented by State Counsel Tanesha Saigon, Marisa Edwards, Abiola Lowe, and Delon Fraser.
Dead: Sunil Ramsundar
Ragnauth and her reputed husband, Nyron Thakurdyal, were first tried for the murder of Sunil Ramsundar in 2018, when they were both unanimously found guilty and were each sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment. However, Thakurdyal passed away while serving the lengthy jail time.
In overturning Ragnauth’s conviction in December 2022, the CoA had cited several misdirections by the trial Judge, including his failure to put Thakurdyal’s defence of self-defence to the jury.
The facts of the matter state that Ramsundar was killed after he attempted to settle a dispute between his sister, his niece Ragnauth, and his niece’s reputed husband, Thakurdyal. At about 22:00h on that fateful day, Ramsundar’s sister was reportedly assaulted by her daughter Ragnauth and her partner Thakurdyal. Ramsundar had asked his sister why she was crying, and upon learning about the assault, had approached his niece for an explanation. However, a heated argument had quickly ensued, during which Ramsundar was stabbed about his body. It was reported that Thakurdyal had held Ramsundar down while Ragnauth had stabbed him. Ramsundar had collapsed on the spot, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
After the duo had stabbed Ramsundar, they had reportedly flagged down a passing car in their bid to run away. By happenstance, that vehicle was being driven by an off-duty Policeman, who reportedly heard Thakurdyal telling somebody via his cell phone that he had just “jook up” someone. That cop had driven them to the Wales Police Station, where they were subsequently arrested.
At the time of his arrest, the late Thakurdyal was reportedly found with a knife in his possession.
Ramsundar’s cause of death was listed as shock and haemorrhage. (G1)
