Magistrate Judy Latchman declared on Monday that the court found a prima facie case had been made against the prime suspect and his accomplice for the murder of the deceased block maker.
Beverly Persaud, the reputed wife of Andrew Persaud, and Barbadian security guard Oswald Yaw were jointly charged with murder in September 2015 following the discovery of Persaud’s battered, lifeless body at his home, in a pool of blood.
According to reports, a neighbour heard screams from the residence, but did not think to investigate until a man was seen leaving the home several minutes later, rousing his suspicions. The neighbour alerted others and they proceeded to the house, where they discovered Persaud’s battered body.
A brick and a hammer were found at the crime scene leading investigators to believe that the objects were used to murder Persaud. The number ‘20’ was also found smeared on a refrigerator in the house, equivalent to the number of times the man was hit as confirmed by a post-mortem examination report.
During the Preliminary Inquiry (PI), the court was told that Beverly Persaud met Yaw several weeks prior to the incident and had incited him to carry out a hit on her husband in return for money to cover his travel overseas.
When cautioned and given a chance to speak, Yaw maintained his innocence, positing that he did not believe the prosecution has built a case against him based on the facts and evidence presented to the court.
Beverly Persaud, on the other hand, said: “I do not know this boy … and I don’t know nothing of this charge…”
After listening to the parties, Magistrate Latchman then declared that she found sufficient evidence had been presented by the prosecution in order to commit the accused to stand trial for the capital offence before the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature at the next practicable sitting.
