Accused was arrested at home of murdered Agricola housewife

Jan 17, 2018 News

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– cop testifies

Former soldier, Abiola Jacobs, who is accused of the murder of Agricola, East Bank Demerara housewife, Donna Taylor, was arrested a day after the killing at the dead woman’s home, according to Woman Police Corporal, Melanie Hill.
The bound body of Taylor, 55, was found at the back of her Lot 16-17 Public Road Agricola, East Bank Demerara home. She was found with her hands bound behind her back, a slit throat and a piece of cloth wrapped around her neck.
The mother of four was said to have been attacked in her bed and slain after she was dragged to her backyard. The other occupant of the rented upper flat, Samantha Sabat, was subsequently found lying unconscious in the front yard. The British-based Sabat was a guest of the Taylors. She reportedly escaped by removing the panes from her bedroom window and jumping to the ground from the top flat of the two-storey structure.
Corporal Hill who is stationed at the Alberttown Police Station was called to testify yesterday when the trial of Jacobs, a former paramour of the dead woman’s son, Bertram Taylor Jr., continued before Justice James Bovell-Drakes at the High Court in Georgetown.
Jacobs, also known as Abby, of Agricola, East Bank Demerara has pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on January 31, 2014 at Agricola, she murdered Taylor. The murder accused is being represented by Attorney-at-law Adrian Thompson. State Counsel Lisa Cave and State Counsel Mandel Moore are the prosecutors.
Corporal Hill, who was stationed at the Ruimveldt Police Station at the time of the murder, recounted that on February 1, 2014 around 6:50hrs, she visited the home of the deceased at 16-17 Public Road Agricola, where she arrested Jacobs and escorted her to the Ruimveldt Police Station.
She recounted that on February 4, 2014 she went to the East La Penitence Police Station, where Jacobs was in custody, and told her that she would be charged for murder. Corporal Hill told the court, “I cautioned her (Jacobs) and she remained silent.” She said that the following day, she escorted Jacobs to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
When questioned by State Counsel Cave, Corporal Hill related that no one else was at home when she went to the home to arrest the murder accused.

During cross examination, Attorney Thompson suggested to the police witness that there were a number of persons at the home when she arrested his client. Corporal Hill maintained that Jacobs was the only person in the home. But the defence counsel further suggested to the witness that she was not telling the truth.
Corporal Hill insisted that she was telling the truth. When asked by the Thompson about the whereabouts of the dead woman’s husband, Bertram Taylor Sr, and her son Bertram Taylor Jr., Corporal Hill told the court that before leaving for the Taylor’s residence she observed the men giving statements at the Ruimveldt Police Station.
“She (Jacobs) doesn’t live there. How you know she was there?” Thompson asked Corporal Hill who related that she received information from her superior that Jacobs was at the dead woman’s home.
Also testifying yesterday was Detective Superintendent of Police, Joel David who is stationed at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters.
According to Superintendent David during February 2014, he was stationed at the Ruimveldt Police Station and attached to the CID. He recalled that on February 1, 2014 he and Detective Sergeant Stephens were in the CID office at the Ruimveldt Police Station, when he contacted Jacobs.
The detective said that in his presence, Sergeant Stephens told Jacobs that he was in receipt of information that she was involved in the murder of Donna Taylor.
The police witness stated that Jacobs was told of her right to have an Attorney, relative or friend in her company before she related a story to him.
Superintendent David recounted that Jacobs told him that she was a soldier attached to Base Camp Stephenson, Timehri, East Bank Demerara. He said that Jacobs told him that she left work on January 31, 2014 around 15:00hrs when she travelled to Agricola.
According to the witness, Jacobs said that on her arrival at Agricola she spoke with Donna Taylor and left for home around 18:00hrs. He added that later that night, Jacobs said she received a phone call from someone who told her that something had happened at the Taylor’s home. He further added that Jacobs told him that her mother accompanied her to the Taylor’s home where they learnt that Mrs. Taylor was murdered.
The Superintendent of Police told the court that when he asked Taylor for the phone numbers of the person who called her, she told him that it was a blocked number and that she had deleted the call records.
He said that Sergeant Stephens interviewed (Samantha) Sabat and took a statement from her in his presence.
As a result of what was in that statement, Superintendent David recalled that a confrontation was held between Sabat and Jacobs, again in his presence.
He disclosed that Sabat told him she was in her bedroom when she heard a banging on the door and a male voice shouting open. According to the witness, Sabat told him that she saw Jacobs peeping through the lattice work near her bedroom. He added that Sabat told him that she escaped the ordeal by jumping through a window. He also disclosed that he noticed several injuries about the woman’s body.
State Counsel Moore put several questions to the police witnesses. In response to the first question, Superintendent David said that Jacobs never told him or anyone in his presence that she was not at Donna Taylor’s home when she was killed. He said Jacobs never told him or anyone in his presence that she killed the woman.
Further, in response to more questions from the prosecutor, the police witness stated that Jacobs never told him that she was at her grandmother’s house or sick at the time of the killing.
Asked by Prosecutor Moore as to whether Sabat was a suspect in the murder probe, the witness replied in the negative and went on to explain that based on investigation Sabat was “ruled out” as a suspect. He said that the injuries Sabat sustained were consistent with the story she narrated to detectives.
The Superintendent of Police admitted that he failed to check Jacobs’s phone because he initially believed the story she told him. He however said that records obtained for Jacobs’s mobile number from the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) confirmed that she did not receive any incoming/outgoing call during the period Donna Taylor was killed. This trial is continuing.

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