Latest update February 6th, 2025 7:27 AM
Suspect in Kescia Branche killing freed …as key witness fails to show up
Kaieteur News – Hours after the trial commenced for the murder of 22-year-old school teacher, Kescia Branche – the man who was charged for the crime was freed of the charge after the prosecution was unable to locate the key witness.
Murdered, Kescia Branche.
Matthew Munroe.
The battered body of Branche was discovered unconscious at Louisa Row, Georgetown, on November 5, 2017. The woman was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she remained without regaining consciousness and subsequently succumbed on November 7, 2017.
On Tuesday morning, Matthew Munroe, 52, of Diamond East Bank Demerara, was arraigned in the Demerara High Court before Justice Sandil Kissoon for the murder.
Munroe pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on November 5, 2017, he murdered Branche, a teacher of the Richard Ishmael Secondary School.
The prosecution was expected to call three witnesses to testify, including the key witness. However, on Tuesday afternoon, when the matter continued the prosecutors indicated to the court that they were unable to locate the key witness.
In response, Justice Kissoon explained that since the prosecution could not locate their key witness to testify – then there will be insufficient evidence in the case against Munroe. As such, he directed the jury return a formal verdict of not guilty against Munroe.
The taxi-driver was being represented by a battery of lawyers including attorney-at-law Dexter Todd and Dexter Smartt, while the State was being represented by Prosecutor Abigail Gibbs, Taniesha Saygon and Mohammed Ali.
On December 5, 2017 Munroe was charged for Branche’s murder.
Kaieteur News had reported that Munroe was detained after returning from an overseas vacation. He had reportedly travelled on vacation to the United States of America (USA) around the same time that Branche was found unconscious at Louisa Row, Georgetown.
The police had impounded his vehicle, which had sustained damage, and had a missing bumper. Munroe had claimed that he had driven into a pothole on the East Coast of Demerara – but was reportedly unable to show police the location.
It was reported that Branche’s injuries appeared to be consistent with those inflicted by the impact of a vehicle, and a post mortem later revealed that she succumbed to brain hemorrhage, caused by blunt trauma to the head.
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