Attorney wants murder charges against Guyanese student in fatal fire withdrawn
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – The attorney representing a 15-year-old student charged with several counts of murder arising from the deadly May 22 fire that killed 19 students at a dormitory at the Mahdia Secondary School in Guyana, is calling for the charges to be withdrawn.
In a letter to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), attorney Dr Dexter Todd said that based on the disclosures made at the Mahdia Magistrate’s Court during the hearings, it is clear that there is no potential evidence to support the charges against the teenager.
“Upon review of all the statements and other exhibits served on our clients, our suspicions in this matter were confirmed…there is absolutely no potential evidence that could support a charge of murder, much less secure a conviction against our client,” Todd wrote in his letter.
The attorney said given the evidence before the court, he is urging the DPP to review the file, and have the charges withdrawn, warning that failure to do that would result in civil action against the state.
“Please note that should this charge not be withdrawn against our client and it goes the full length, we will be forced to institute civil and constitutional proceedings against the Office of the DPP and the State, seeking certain order, declaration and substantial damages.”
The 15-year-old school girl, who is being held at the Juvenile Holding Centre, is accused of setting fire to the dormitory resulting in the deaths of 19 fellow students between the ages of 12 to 17 and a five-year-old boy. She was not required to enter a plea.
Full disclosure in the matter was completed on July 20 and Todd said the evidence before the court is circumstantial and very weak, and does not meet the requirements for murder charges.
He said some of the witnesses in the matter have claimed that his client was upset with the caretaker of the dorm for taking away her cell phone, and threatened to burn the place down.
However, the attorney said besides the words of a teenager, there is nothing else linking his client to the deadly blaze.
“None of them stated that they saw her light the fire, none of them stated that she accepted responsibility for the fire, none of them said they saw her walking or running from the area where the fire allegedly started prior to the great blaze. There is no forensic evidence in any form that incriminates our client,” he said.
