Guilty verdict in stabbing death of Marabella girl, 17

A JUDGE delivered a written judgment on Monday, returning a guilty verdict on a 14-year-old boy who stabbed a 17-year-old girl to death in 2010.

Justice Gillian Lucky presided in the trial of Nicholas Rampersad, now 24, of Montique Street, Marabella. She will pass sentence next week Thursday in the San Fernando High Court.

Because of his age at the time, the death sentence cannot be imposed on Rampersad, of Montique Street, Marabella.

Rampersad elected to be tried by a judge instead of a jury, in the third such trial of this type since the Criminal Procedure Act was amended earlier this year.

Senior state attorney Trevor Jones led evidence that on the night of June 27, Rampersad stabbed Nabisha Chrystal Bedaysee. She had recently given birth and was staying at the home of Sookrani Rampersad, Nicholas' mother. She lived a few houses away.

Bedaysee, who was stabbed 16 times, ran out of the house and collapsed in the road. Before she lost consciousness she gave a dying declaration.

In a written judgment, Lucky said the evidence from witnesses was that Bedaysee was in and out of consciousness, "But the deceased was in a state of mind to positively identify that it was Nicholas who stabbed her."

At about 8.30 pm, while Bedaysee was lying on the ground, a woman in the crowd which had gathered asked, “Who do this to you? Nicholas?”

The girl nodded.

Lucky said, "She had no reason to implicate the accused. She referred to the accused as 'Nick' and I'm sure she positively identified the accused.

"I find you guilty of murder."

Attorney Rekha Ramjit, who defended Rampersad, will plead in mitigation on his behalf on the basis of a bio-social report and make submissions on the levels of sentence. Jones will make submissions for the State.