[www.inewsguyana.com] – Three men accused of killing a Campbellville woman and dumping her body in a septic tank was committed to stand trial in High Court after their second Preliminary Inquiry (PI).
Ralph ‘Nick’ Tyndall, 27, of Lot 31 ‘C ‘ Field Sophia, Anthony De Paul Hope called ‘Papa’, 26, also of Lot 55 William Street and Kevin O’Neil, 26, of Seaforth Street, Campbellville are all accused of murdering Colleen Forrester on December 27, 2008 at William Street, Campbellville, Georgetown.
The first PI was conducted before Magistrate Octive Hamilton and the three men were committed to stand trial at the High Court.
However, on October 28, 2013 the case was quashed by Justice Diana Insanally and a new Preliminary Inquiry for the accused was ordered.
In making the order, the submissions by the defence were accepted in support of a preliminary objection which claimed that an unsworn statement of a child of tender age was the only evidence on which the Committal Order was based.
The second PI was conducted before Magistrate Judy Latchman and thirteen witnesses were called by Prosecution to testify.
The trial was given a time frame of four months to be completed. It was sent before Magistrate Latchman on October 28, 2013 and on November 15 last the PI commenced.
The PI was completed today, after both the Defence and the Prosecution gave their submissions. Vishnu Hunt is prosecuting the case, while the Defence lawyers include Madan Kissoon for Tyndall, Melvin Duke for De Paul Hope and George Thomas for O’Neil.
The trio was informed that based on the evidence, Court found that a Prima Facie case was established against them for the offence of murder and there is sufficient evidence for them to stand a trial at the next Practical sitting of the High Court.
They were each asked separately by the Magistrate if they wished to say anything or called a witness. Tyndall and Hope responded that they do not wish to say anything nor call any witness. But the number three accused O’Neil on the other hand said that “he is Innocent and does not wish to say anything else at this time”.
During the trial, the accused men out of anxiety were often times shaking their legs. It was observed that their expression was very calm when they heard the ruling of the Magistrate. Tyndall, however, seemed disappointed and was unsure whether to sit or stand in the dock.
Hope, iNews understands is Forrester’s nephew and he had resided at the address where her lifeless body was found.
According to Police report, the body of Forrester was discovered at just around 9:55hrs on Sunday after police conducted a search on the William Street, Campbellville property, where she was a caretaker.
They searched the place following a report by relatives that she
was missing and discovered the body in the septic tank.
Relatives reported that she was last seen returning home from the Main Big Lime in the early hours of December 27, 2007. A post-mortem examination conducted several days later revealed that she died as a result of strangulation and blunt trauma to the head.
