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Retrial ordered for alleged Sophia wife killer-as Appeal Court overturns conviction, 83-year sentence
Holding that the trial Judge Navindra Singh ought to have given further and better directions on circumstantial evidence to the jury, among other things, the Court of Appeal yesterday overturned a murder conviction and 83-year sentence against Michael Anthony Persaud who was found guilty in 2014 of murdering his 19-year-old wife.
MURDERED: Maduri Padumdeo
In November 2014, Persaud was convicted by a jury of killing his reputed wife, Maduri Padumdeo, called ‘Sharda’. The killing occurred at their Lot 8 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown residence on December 23, 2011. Padumdeo, who was a cane juice vendor, was discovered naked and dead with a piece of cable tied tightly around her neck in their home.
Persaud was present at the time the discovery was made; was found lying in the bed next to her corpse. A post mortem examination conducted on the body of the victim revealed that she died of ligature strangulation. In its order yesterday, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside the conviction and sentence. This means that Persaud will face a new trial for the offence at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.
Arguing against the conviction and sentence, Persaud’s lawyer Glen Hanoman had said that the trial judge failed to recuse himself from the trial after there was an interaction between his wife (the Judge’s wife) and the grandmother of the appellant (Persaud) which resulted in the judge directing that the grandmother be detained for approximately five hours without conducting a proper inquiry.
MURDER ACCUSED: Michael Persaud
The lawyer had also argued that there was a material irregularity which resulted in a substantial miscarriage of justice when Justice Singh permitted persons wearing large buttons with the face of the deceased (Padumdeo) to be present in court in view of the jurors during the summing up and verdict. And further, “The Learned Trial Judge erred in law when he refused to accede to the request of the appellant (Persaud) for a sufficiently long adjournment to ensure the attendance of a legal representative of his own choice and erred by personally and unilaterally appointing and assigning counsel without the consent of the appellant.”
According to Hanoman, the mathematical formula utilised by the Judge in passing sentence was without legal basis. He failed to take into account established sentencing guidelines and passed a sentence that was inconsistent with the current guidelines.
“The sentence was too severe in all the circumstances of the case. The Learned Trial Judge failed to explore the possibility of ordering probation report and to take other relevant factors into consideration.”
In allowing the appeal, Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards and two other judges agreed that the trial judge ought to have given further and better directions on circumstantial evidence to the jury. The Court also agreed that the trial judge erred when he failed to adequately deal with the main prosecution witness who “had an interest to serve.”
At the announcement of the guilty verdict, Persaud had pleaded his innocence. “Your honour, I am innocent of this crime.” While leading his defence, Persaud had told the court that he had no knowledge of the crime. He had said that he loved his wife and would never kill her. However, the State Prosecutor told the court, “Another young woman has tragically lost her life at the hands of a man; a man who said that he loved her and was supposed to protect her.”
Before handing down sentence, the Justice Singh had told Persaud that he deprived his child of both parents and had shown no remorse for his actions. Persaud’s original sentence stood at 60 years; 10 years was added for the evidence of premeditation, another 10 years was added for the cruel manner in which the teen met her demise and six years was added since it was a domestic violence-related crime. However, the judge deducted three years from the sentence for the time Persaud had spent in the prison pending trial, hence the 83-year jail term.
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