Deportee found guilty of Parika fuel dealer murder

Nov 06, 2020 News

Convicted: Kurt Thomas.

Kaieteur News – Kurt Thomas called “Deportee” or “Yankee” was found guilty of murder yesterday by a mixed-12 member jury for the murder of Parika fuel dealer, Seeram Singh.
The jury found Thomas guilty of the charge, following a summing up of the evidence in the trial by Justice Navindra Singh in the Georgetown High Court. Thomas, who joined the proceeding from the Lusignan Prisons via Zoom, cursed and maintained his innocence.
He was further remanded to prison pending sentence. A date is yet to be fixed for sentencing.
The verdict follows almost two weeks of trial in the Georgetown High Court. During the trial, Thomas was implicated in the crime by several witnesses including eyewitness Rajmohan Autar.
In his evidence, Autar told the Court that he operated a shop in the area where the shooting took place. He recalled that he had seen the accused pacing the area and that he even purchased a Guinness at his shop before the robbery.

Murdered: Parika fuel dealer, Seeram Singh

The witness claimed that he was inside his shop when he heard a commotion. He claimed that when he came outside, he saw the fuel dealer being chased by a man who was tugging at his gold chain. Autar claimed that there was a struggle between the victim and his robber who was armed with a gun and that he shot Seeram in the process.
The witness said further that after the robber fired the first shot, he recognized him to be the stranger who he had sold Guinness earlier that day. He said that he remembered the accused because their eyes “made four.” In response to queries from the prosecution about the location of the killing, the Autar said that the incident occurred under a lamppost, which had lights at the time that the shooting occurred.
The eyewitness testimony followed the scientific evidence of Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, who revealed to the court that the fuel dealer succumbed because of shock and haemorrhage due to gunshot injuries. He gave the court a detailed analysis of the wounds and injuries that were found on the body of the deceased businessman.
Dr. Singh’s analysis comes days after the court heard that clothing belonging to the accused as well as his hand had tested positive for gunshot residue (GSR). Government analyst and expert in trace evidence, Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore, in his testimony, told the court that he found chemicals consistent with gunpowder residue on a black jersey and samples collected from the defendant’s right hand which were items submitted to him for testing.
Additionally, Inspector Lallbachand Dial and Police Corporal, Krishnadat Singh, had testified to having handed over to Azore several pieces of items containing samples for GSR testing.
Dial had spoken of swabbing the hands and nostrils of the accused for gunpowder residue and thereafter placing the samples to air-dry before handing it over to the analyst for testing.
In his testimony, Corporal Singh had told the court that he had escorted Thomas to his home from where he said, he retrieved several pieces of clothing which he (Thomas) identified that he wore on the day of the shooting and the following day. The case was prosecuted by State Counsel Tuanna Hardy and Tyra Bakker while attorney Lyndon Amsterdam represented the accused.