A young mother, Awena Rutherford appeared before a judge and jury at the High Court earlier today on allegations that she killed her two children by poisoning on the evening of March 27, 2014 at her Branch Road, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara home.
Represented by attorney, Adrian Thompson, Rutherford, 25, denied two counts of manslaughter as presented by State Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken, who in her opening address this afternoon told the jury that one-year-old Jabari Codogan and four-year-old Odasia Codogan died from pesticide poisoning.
The defendant’s sister Monica Sealey testified that her niece and nephew vomited after Rutherford gave them tablets to drink, claiming that they had a cold but according to Sealey, the children did not have any cold. Sealey recalled the 4-year old was hesitating to drink the tablet.
Reports back then were that the father of the Cadogan children had threatened to take them away from Rutherford the day after their demise.
There were reports that the woman also ingested the same poisonous substance that took the lives of her two children. It is believed that the woman took this course of action because of the unstable relationship she had with her husband, who at the time, resided overseas.
Prior to the children’s death they were in the care of another relative.
The matter continues before Justice Singh. Some 10 witnesses are set to testify.
