Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty moments ago committed Timothy Mckenzie, 21, to stand trial for murder while his father James Mckenzie, 55, was set free. The father and son are accused of killing 22-year-old Richmond Noel who was stabbed and killed near the Stabroek Market last year.
The men, who are both minibus operators and of Kitty, Georgetown, were not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on June 4, 2018, at Stabroek Market, Georgetown, they murdered Noel.
The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder was conducted by Magistrate McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
This morning when the matter was called, the magistrate told the court that after going through the entirety of the evidence of the prosecution’s witnesses she found that a prima facie case had been made out against Timothy Mckenzie; hence she committed him to stand trial for the murder. He will go on trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.
However, the Magistrate told the court that the witnesses were not able to provide evidence that James Mckenzie provided his son with the weapon used to kill Noel; hence she discharged the matter against the senior McKenzie.
According to information, Timothy and Noel are known to each other. On the day in question, the two had a misunderstanding after Timothy reportedly assaulted Noel’s sister.
It was reported that around 13:40 hrs the two got into a heated argument and Timothy armed himself with a knife, approached the victim, and dealt him a single stab to the left side of his chest. An eyewitness had claimed that James gave the weapon to his son. The injured man fell to the ground in an unconscious state and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
