Woman arrested for Tortuga farmer's murder released

A 26-year-old mother of a four-year-old who was detained by police in connection with the shooting death of Ganesh Deopersad from Tortuga was released on Thursday.

Deopersad, who would have turned 34 in April, was a mechanical engineer and farmer.

His body was found wrapped in a sheet in his bedroom at Cocoyac Trace on March 14 at around 12.45 pm.

The father of one, also known as Chicken and Shawnie, was cremated at the Waterloo cremation site on Saturday after a service at his home. The suspect was arrested the day after the funeral.

On Wednesday, a writ of habeas corpus was filed by the woman’s attorney Shalini Sankar and the application was heard on Thursday morning by the emergency judge, Justice Frank Seepersad.

The judge was told that investigators had a meeting with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at 9.45 am on Thursday, to obtain instructions.

Seepersad stood the matter down to the afternoon when he was told that the DPP advised police to release the woman and she was.

The judge referred to an affidavit filed by PC Jason Bernard, who interviewed the suspect on three occasions, who said at the second interview, certain utterances made by the woman caused him to “become suspicious.” This suspicion led to her arrest. “The court feels a measure of disquiet as more than mere suspicion is required to effect a rest. There must be evidence which leads to a reasoned view that an arrestable offence was committed.”

The woman had been in custody for five days before the application for the writ was filed.

The Commissioner of Police was ordered to pay $5,000 in costs.

In the emergency application, Sankar said there was no lawful justification for the woman’s continued detention.

She said her client was separated from her son who needed her attention, especially since his father was murdered days ago.

“The applicant's husband was murdered a few days ago and the four-year-old child needs the emotional and physical support of the applicant at this time. The applicant is separated from her child at this time and she is the only living parent.”