Retrial ordered for Diego Martin man on 2008 murder charge

A DIEGO MARTIN man will face a retrial for the 2008 murder of businessman Elijah Baksh.

On June 18, Justices of Appeal Gillian Lucky, Mira Dean-Armorer and Malcolm Holdip allowed the appeal of McClean Delpeche, also called “Cat,” of Richplain Road, Diego Martin, since the State partly conceded on certain complaints of the fairness of his 2019 trial.

However, despite the matter being of some vintage, the judges said the criminal procedure rules were now more rigorous than in 2019, so things can be done for a speedier trial with proper case management.

Lucky also said the assessment of the evidence was for a jury, and there was legislation to deal with scenarios where witnesses were no longer available, as argued by Delpeche’s attorneys Keith Scotland, SC, and Asha Watkins-Montserin.

Lucky was also confident that as the errors made at the first trial had been identified, they would not be repeated at the second.

In allowing the appeal, the judges also ordered it to be docketed to a judge in the criminal division and given priority.

In submissions for a retrial, deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal said the State’s concessions did not relate to identification evidence on which the trial judge had carefully, meticulously and thoroughly directed the jury.

She said a new judge would be equally well placed to direct the jury on such evidence, as well as the other aspects of the case that Delpeche had complained about in his appeal.

Dougdeen-Jaglal said those aspects of the State’s evidence could be drawn out at trial with careful thorough directions by a new judge.

Delpeche went on trial before Justice Carla Brown-Antoine (now an Appeal Court judge) in the Port of Spain High Court charged with Baksh’s murder on May 30, 2008, at Norfolk Street, Belmont.

Baksh, of Lowlands, Tobago, was in a car when a man walked up to him and fired several shots. He died on the scene.

Delpeche was convicted. The 12-member jury took only 20 minutes to return with a guilty verdict.

At the time, Depeche was not immediately released, as he was still facing trial for the murders of an army corporal and his friend who were shot dead at a christening party at Farm Road, Diego Martin.