Latest update April 4th, 2025 12:14 AM
Cosmetologist murder trial… Accused had hired taxi driver for Lusignan trip
Video evidence was admitted yesterday in the trial for which Lennox Wayne and taxi driver
Lennox Wayne called ‘Two Colours’
Melroy Doris are facing a judge and jury for the murder of cosmetologist, Ashmini Harriram.
Harriram is said to have been murdered on July 10, 2014. The cosmetologist was shot once to her neck moments after she disembarked a minibus along the Lusignan Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.
On the day of the incident, the shooter reportedly exited a burgundy-coloured motor car, whipped out a gun and shot the teen then took away her mobile phone and left the scene.
Wayne, called “Two Colours” and Doris, were subsequently arrested and charged with the murder. Their trial is being conducted before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and a mixed Jury at the Georgetown High Court. The matter is being presented by State Prosecutors, Shawnette Austin, Mandel Moore and Tamieka Clarke.
Yesterday, the video evidence showed in open court revealed an interview conducted between the police and Melroy Doris, the second name accused.
The video recording was entered into evidence by Police Officer, Carlson Rockcliffe.
According to information contained in the video, Doris had told police that Wayne had hired him to take him to Lusignan on the day of the incident.
The recording revealed that Doris was questioned by two policemen. The officers had cautioned the suspect before questioning him about the murder.
Although the video was hazy and the audio was unclear, the evidence revealed that Doris -a taxi driver, told investigators that he had accepted an offer to take Wayne, whom he referred to as ‘Two Colours’, to Lusignan.
According to the information, Doris had told police that ‘Colours’ said that he wanted to conduct some business on the East Coast.
Most of the content of the recording and audio was not clear enough for members of the courtroom to hear. Hence defence counsel Nigel Hughes and Stanley Moore took the witness to task over the material and process used to record the evidence. To most of the questions, the witness said that he could not recall precisely the process or material used to record the evidence.
The matter is scheduled to continue on April 24.
Ashmini Harriram
On Wednesday, Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, testified that based on his post mortem examination, the 19-year-old cosmetologist died as a result of respiratory failure due to gunshot injuries to the spine. The Pathologist explained that based on his examination, the victim was shot in the mouth, and the bullet exited the back of her head.
Dr. Singh is among ten persons to take the stand in the trial. Police Corporal Patrick Benjamin had told the court that he visited the scene of the crime and retrieved bullets and spent shells from the roadway at Lusignan Railway Embankment. The witness said that he and the other officers also took photographs of the crime scene.
The policeman said that he visited the Georgetown Public Hospital morgue, where he viewed the body of the deceased. He noted that Harriram had a wound to her mouth and the back of her head. Last week, Police Sergeant Collin Ross faced intense questioning regarding the murder investigations.
Wayne’s Counsel, Nigel Hughes, specifically asked the witness about his client’s physical condition during the time of investigation and taking of the statement.
The policeman said that he noticed injuries on Wayne’s arm, but he made no record of it in the station diary. Officer Ross noted that he would have had to have sustained the injuries before reaching the Vigilance Police Station.
However, the attorney suggested to the policeman that Wayne had been burned. Hughes suggested to the witness that the police had used methylated spirits as a combustible substance to set his client’s arm alight during the interrogation.
To which Ross replied, “No sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Hughes further suggested to the witness that he instituted charges against Wayne after it became known that he made certain allegations against members of the Guyana Police Force in relation to another murder. Ross denied the suggestions. A voir dire has since been conducted into the matter.
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