Ex- cop faces High Court trial for seaman’s murder

Jul 21, 2017 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Police Detective Lallbachan Dyal told the court yesterday that he took photographic exposures and collected samples from a car allegedly used in connection with the murder of Davonan Sookram, a seaman of Bushy Park, Parika, East Bank Essequibo.
According to reports, Sookram’s body was found in a trench at Ruby Backdam, Parika.

Accused: Ruel Brandon

The murder is said to have occurred between July 27 and July 31, 2013. It was reported that Sookram was murdered execution-style in retaliation for a deal gone sour. His partially decomposed body was found with two bullet wounds to the head.
Reports further indicated that Sookram who was nicknamed ‘tall man,’ had left his home on July 27, 2013, in the company of a friend, but he never returned. His body was discovered, days later in the murky waters at Parika Backdam.
Investigations mounted by the Serious Crime Investigations Unit (SCIU) of the Guyana Police Force led to the arrest of Ruel Brandon, an ex- cop. He was later charged for the execution-style killing. Brandon is currently on trial for murder before Justice Nareshwar Harnanan and a mixed 12-member jury at the Georgetown High Court.
Yesterday, a team of State Prosecutors, Siand Dhurjon, Lisa Cave and Shawnette Austin called their first witness to the stand – Detective Dyal.
Dyal testified to participating in the Crime Scene Investigations, (CSI), in relation to a murder committed at Ruby Backdam, Parika. The policeman recalled that he had visited a scene at Ruby Backdam after he had received certain information about an alleged murder which occurred there.
Upon reaching the crime scene, the witness said he met other ranks including Corporal Harry and another man (a civilian) who pointed to an area just off the public road. There, he observed a human body in a trench.
He said the body was in a slightly slanted, lying position and the head was faced downward. The policeman recollected that the body was clad in a bluish grey T- Shirt and multicoloured three quarter pants and did not have any footwear.
According to Detective Dyal, the body was fished out of the trench and placed on a parapet near the roadway. He said that he took a closer look at the deceased person and determined that he was bald. The policeman said that he therefore could not tell the ethnicity of the individual. He however noticed two wounds on the deceased, one on the forehead and the other on the back of the head. He said that he later learnt the name of the man to be Davonan Sookram.
The witness testified that several photographs were taken of the scene of the crime — the photographs were tendered and marked as exhibits in the trial yesterday.
Dyal further told the Court that on August 3, 2015, he was among a company of policemen that went to an auto body workshop on the East Bank of Essequibo.
While there, the witness said he spoke with the owner of the establishment, who pointed to a silver grey motor that had work being done to it. The officer said he checked the car and did not find anything of evidential value.
The detective told the court that a short while later he was instructed to return to the auto body workshop. He recalled that he removed the upholstery work from the truck of the vehicle and placed in a plastic bag and collected samples of mud and loam which were found on the tyre of the motor vehicle. Some of the samples collected, the officer said, were for presumptive tests to be carried at the crime lab.
Under questioning by Prosecutor Lisa Cave, the detective explained that a presumptive test is done to determine whether traces of blood can be found on a material. The detective also faced questions from Defence Attorney, Nigel Hughes.
Under cross examination, he said that no test for gunpowder residue was conducted on the car, because that kind of evidence would have already been contaminated by then.

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