Hung jury for Anna Catherina triple-murder trial

Oct 13, 2019 News

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Even after almost four hours of deliberations and further directions by Trial Judge Brassington Reynolds, a jury at around 19:45hrs Friday evening announced that it was unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict in the trial of 34-year-old Abishai Caesar who is accused of the September 21, 2012 murders of Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara businesswoman Jennifer Persaud and her two young sons.

According to the indictment presented by State Prosecutor Lisa Cave, between September 21 and September 22, 2012 at Lot 67 Sea View, Anna Catherina, Caesar murdered 41-year-old Persaud called “Jenny” and her two children Afridi Bacchus, 6, and Jadon Ernest, 17 months.

The jury retired to deliberate around 16:30hrs and emerged around 19:20hrs requesting further directions from the trial judge. More than one of the jurors related that they had an issue in relation to the signatures on a caution statement Caesar is said to have given to detectives. Justice Reynolds then recapped the evidence in relation to the jurors’ issue and sent them back for further deliberations.

About a half an hour later, the jury forewoman announced that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict for the offence as required under the laws. The forewoman revealed that while nine of the jurors agreed that Caesar was guilty of the offence, the remaining three were in disagreement. In light of the jury’s announcement, Justice Reynolds informed Caesar, who was represented by lawyer Maxwell McKay, that he would be further remanded to prison since he has to be retired for the offence at the next practicable sessions of the Demerara assizes.

Caesar is accused of breaking into the businesswoman’s home and robbing and killing her and her two sons. He had initially evaded justice until April 2016, when investigators were able to arrest him after his reputed wife, Zoey Phillips, went and told them that he murdered Persaud and her sons during the home invasion.

Zoey Phillips had earlier testified that Caesar had confided in her after killing the family. The woman had testified that she and Caesar lived together and were the businesswoman’s neighbours. According to her, Persaud’s call name was “Jenny”. She said that on the night of September 21, 2012, she and Caesar were in their bedroom when he left and told her that he was going over to Persaud’s home to get some money because he was “broke”.

According to the main witness, she saw when Caesar, who was clad in a three-quarter pants, collect a small wooden-handle knife and a pair of gloves from the kitchen area before leaving for the woman’s home. She said that this was after midnight. Phillips recounted that her ex-lover gained entry into the woman’s yard through an opening in a zinc fence. She recalled that she went back into their bedroom and about a minute after she looked through the bedroom window and saw Caesar climbing up the stairs and into Persaud’s home.

She explained that she was able to see him because the woman’s home had clear windows. She told the court how she fell asleep and was awoken by Caesar, calling on her to open the backdoor. The witness recounted that upon opening the door, she met Caesar who showed her a cardboard box containing several $20 and $100 notes, which amounted to about $3,000. She said that it was then her reputed husband told her that he “had to kill Jennifer” because she woke up and saw him in her home and knew him very well.

According to the witness, Caesar told her that while he was stabbing Jennifer Persaud, her older son woke up and saw him, and he also killed him and his younger brother. She added that when her reputed husband came back with the knife, it was covered in blood and his pants also had spots of blood. She recounted that Caesar took her to the seawall where he threw the knife into the river. She added that he discarded the gloves and pants in some nearby bushes and they went back home and slept.

But almost four years after the businesswoman and her sons were killed, Phillips said that she finally informed the police that it was her spouse who had committed the crime. She stated that on April 23, 2016, she visited the Tuschen Police Outpost where she made a report against Caesar and requested a restraining order. She said the man was arrested the following day and taken to the Leonora Police Station where police held a confrontation between them.

Phillips said that during that time, she reminded Caesar that he killed Jennifer Persaud and the two children, but he denied and told police that she was lying on him. She, however, explained that she kept it a secret for so long because she was afraid of him, as he was very abusive.

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