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Vagrant accused of killing Clonbrook man acquitted
After spending almost three years behind bars, the woman accused of killing Sheriff Balmacoon at Clonbrook,
Brinetta Browne
East Coast Demerara (ECD), was yesterday acquitted of the murder charge.
Brinetta Browne was set free by Justice Brassington Reynolds after a mixed twelve member jury, who were sworn in to oversee the trial, found her not guilty of the offence.
Browne was accused of stabbing Sheriff Balmacoon called ‘Boutam’ to death at Clonbrook, ECD, on September 24, 2011. It is believed that Balmacoon, a resident of the village was making his way home when the incident occurred.
According to reports, the victim who was under the influence of alcohol was attacked by Browne, a vagrant, who had been in a shed on the roadside. The man reportedly sustained injuries to his neck and other parts of his body.
Balmacoon was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. .
A Post-mortem examination performed on the body of Balmacoon by Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh revealed the cause of death as haemorrhage and shock due to stab wounds.
After the incident, there were speculations by residents of Clonbrook that the woman was mentally unstable. However, Browne underwent a psychiatric evaluation and was subsequently charged for the crime
However, while leading her defence yesterday before Justice Reynolds and the mixed twelve -member jury at the Georgetown High Court, Browne said that she had been under a shed when the man started to ‘trouble’ her. She claimed that he threw a brick at her.
The woman told the court that she had a knife in her hand which she used to warn Balmocoon, but that as she was warning him, he stumbled into the knife. Browne was represented by Attorney -at- Law, George Thomas.
In her closing address, State Prosecutor Teeshana Lake told the jury that they are entitled to believe some, all, or part of the evidence presented by the witnesses. She told the jurors that it was their right to decide whether the accused is guilty of the crime which she allegedly committed, based on the facts presented by the witnesses.
The Prosecutor also asked the jury to consider the injuries which the victim sustained. She told the court that it was evident that any person inflicting a stab wound to another person‘s neck would have meant to cause them serious harm.
Prosecutor Lake had called a total of five witnesses to the stand to give evidence in the trial.
Among them, was Bhena Alli, an eyewitness, who told the court that she had seen the accused raise her hands at the victim several times (as if firing chops at Balmacoon) before he collapsed to the ground.
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