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Former murder accused sues State for taking too long to try him
Kaieteur News – Matthew Monroe, the 51-year-old Taxi Driver who was freed from a murder charge in May this year is now suing the State for taking too long to give him a trial.
Murdered Kescia Branche
According to court documents seen by this media house, Monroe, a resident of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) wants the State to pay him more than $50M for the ‘loss of liberty, unlawful detention and delay in reasonable trial for a period of four years and six months.’
Monroe spent four years and six months behind bars on remand for the murder of Kescia Branche, a Richard Ishmael Secondary School Teacher, who was found unconscious on November 5, 2017, at Louisa Row, Georgetown. She died two days later at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), from brain hemorrhage due to blunt force trauma to the head.
The Taxi Driver was charged and remanded to prison on December 6, 2017 and remained there until he was freed in May 2022, after a star witness failed to show up in court.
However, according to Monroe, he was tried for the Teacher’s murder some four years after he was remanded and it is for this reason that he is suing the State.
Monroe is being represented by a battery of Lawyers from Dexter Todd and Associates, and the Respondents in the lawsuit he filed against the State are Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall SC. and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali Hack.
In the lawsuit, Monroe via his Attorneys claimed that detaining him for four years-six months without trial has violated his constitutional right to personal liberty.
The Taxi Driver made claims that after his remand, he was scheduled to stand trial on October 16, 2018 but was only indicted some two years after in September 2020.
Former Murder Accused, Matthew Monroe
He was allegedly listed for trial in October that year but it was delayed for another year. A new date was sent for 2021, but the Judge was unavailable twice and he eventually got though in 2022, after his Attorneys put some pressure on the Judicial System via legal letters.
As a result he is entitled to compensation. Monroe calculated that his compensation is in excess of $50M for personal damages and because he was unable to work during the period he was wrongfully deprived of his freedom.
Monroe claimed that he was employed at Puran Bros Inc as a Marketing Agent and earned some $160,000 a month.
For the period he was locked up, Monroe claimed that he lost over $8M. The former murder accused also alleged that earned an additional income of $300,000 a month working as taxi driver and calculated the losses for the job to be over $16M.
Additionally the man is suing the State $200,000 for the wrongful advancement of a murder charge against him when there was not circumstantial basis to do so and for his wrongful detention for four years, six months.
Police alleged that they were able to link Monroe to Branche’s murder because she was seen alive leaving in taxi from a Barbeque Joint on Mandela Avenue.
Hours later on November 5, 2017 she was found unconscious lying on Louisa Row, Georgetown hours after reportedly leaving a Barbeque Joint on Mandela Avenue.
She never regained consciousness and died two days later at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
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