Retrial for man who has spent almost 19 years in jail

A LAVENTILLE man who has already spent close to 19 years in prison on remand will again have to face a fresh trial after a Port of Spain jury was unable to arrive at a verdict on Thursday.

A retrial was ordered for Kevon Nurse, aka Kevon Benoit, by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds after jurors returned deadlocked after four hours of deliberations. Nurse was before the court for the murder of his uncle Lester Ash on Christmas Day 2000, at Success, Laventille.

Ramsumair-Hinds was the fifth judge Nurse went on trial before, however, on three occasions – in 2000 before Justice Rajendra Narine; in 2003 before Justice Paula-Mae Weekes, where he was convicted but a retrial was ordered on appeal; and then before Justice Hayden St Clair Douglas and again before Justice Alice Yorke-Soo Hon.

His trials before Narine, St Clair Douglas and Yorke-Soo Hon were aborted before it went to the jury for deliberation.

His trial before Weekes led to his conviction on June 18, 2003, but a retrial was ordered when he was successful at his appeal.

He was represented at his latest trial by attorneys Raphael Morgan and Adaphia Trancoso-Ribero, while the State was represented by prosecutor Stacy Laloo-Chong.

The prosecution presented evidence that on Christmas Day, at about 9 am, Nurse had an argument with his uncle. He was allegedly beaten and sought treatment at the Port of Spain General Hospital, Eric Williams Medical Complex in Mt Hope and at the Arima District Health Facility.

Later that day, a neighbour, who was 13 years-old at the time, testified that she briefly saw the side profile of a man who put on a ski mask and went into Ash’s apartment before she heard gunshots. She also saw when the man left.