Heavy rains and flooding yesterday forced the early adjournment of the trial of five men accused of kidnapping and murdering businessman Dr Edward Khoury.
State prosecutors were in the process of presenting the evidence of their first witness at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain when around midday, High Court Judge Malcolm Holdip indicated that he was concerned by the adverse weather advisories which had been issued by the T&T Meteorological Service.
Holdip discussed the issue with prosecutors and defence attorneys, who agreed that the case should be postponed to allow jurors, court staff and some of their own colleagues to return to their homes located in areas that were devastated by last month’s flooding.
“It is better to be cautious and careful than you have to overnight by a friend because you can’t get home,” Holdip said.
“I have seen what has happened to my friends in Greenvale. I am not going to be playing with something like that,” Holdip added.
During the brief hearing, police photographer Sgt Arlene Skerritt-Marshall gave evidence about her involvement in the case.
Skerritt-Marshall took photographs of Khoury’s office, where he was abducted, as well as of a house in D’Abadie where most of the accused men were arrested shortly after the incident.
The photographs, which were shown to the 12-member jury and three alternates, depicted blood stains and similar shoe prints at both locations. Skerritt-Marshall also took photographs of some of the accused men’s shoes which appeared to be bloodstained and of a gun that was allegedly found in their house.
A DNA analyst employed at the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, is expected to testify later in the trial about tests that were performed on the samples collected by Skerritt-Marshall and her colleagues.
On September 21, 2005, Khoury was at his import and distribution company in the Macoya Industrial Estate when four men entered and demanded guns and money. Khoury resisted and was stabbed before being taken away by the men. Two days later, his headless corpse was found in an abandoned citrus plantation in central Trinidad. To date, his head has never been found by police.
Shawn James, Caleb Donaldson, Jerome Murray, Terry Moore and former police officer Robert Franklyn are currently before Holdip charged with Khoury’s kidnapping and eventual murder.
Skerritt-Marshall is expected to continue her evidence when the case resumes on Monday morning.
The group of men are being represented by a team of defence attorneys including Pamela Elder, SC, Evans Welch, Wayne Sturge, Daniel Khan and Fareed Ali. Anju Bhola and Nigel Pilgrim are prosecuting.