A 50-year-old man, who is accused of killing his neighbour in 2017, was today found guilty by a 12-member jury.
Forrester Gravesande of Lot 5 Jonestown, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD), had pleaded not guilty to the capital offence when his trial commenced earlier this week in the High Court, before Justice Navindra Singh and a 12-member jury.
According to the murder indictment, Gravesande, on April 09, 2017, murdered 49-year-old Courtney Porter.
Reports are that Porter, a father of three, was reportedly beaten in the head with a piece of wood by Gravesande who had accused him of pulling his wife’s clothes. Following the incident, Porter was hospitalised and his attacker was charged with attempt to commit murder and released on bail. Porter succumbed two weeks after the beating. Gravesande subsequently fled the area, and was captured in another policing division. However, when the case was called today, Justice Singh summed up the evidence in the matter, after which he handed it to the juries to deliberate on.
After deliberating for some time, a guilty verdict was handed down. As a result, the trial judge will impose a sentence on January 7, 2021.
The prosecution’s case was presented by State Counsel Teriq Mohammed.
