Man accused of killing Christine Sookra acquitted

By Tiffany Bowen

After spending seven years in prison, Kenise Glasgow, 27, was on Tuesday acquitted at the Georgetown Supreme Court for the murder of Christine Sookra, who was nine years old at the time when gunmen opened fire at her Coldingen, East Coast Demerara home.

Christine Sookra

Again, the poor investigative work of the police was exposed, with the judge referring to the case presented as “shabby” and an “absolute mess”. Glasgow, a resident of East Coast Demerara was indicted with the charge of murder which stated that he shot and killed Sookra on August 28, 2004. On the morning of August 28, 2004, five gunmen dressed in black clothing terrorised the Sookra family, spraying their home with bullets after they had failed to break in.
Her older brother Ryan Sookra, who was 14 at the time, was also injured in the attack. Sookra was hit in the head by a bullet as her terrified family huddled together in the front bedroom of their Lot 205, Track A, Coldingen home.
At the commencement of the trial two Tuesdays ago, the hearing went instantaneously into a voir dire (trial within a trial) to determine the admissibility of Glasgow’s caution statement. Justice Roxanne George upheld a ‘no case submission’ after the evidence that was put forward during the hearing of the voir dire was not sufficient for an actual trial.
The only evidence the prosecution had against the accused was his alleged caution statement. The case was led by state prosecutors Rhondel Weever and Natasha Backer, while Attorney Basil Williams represented the accused.

Shabby mess
Minutes before Justice George handed down the verdict, she labelled the case “a tangled web of confusion on the part of the police”. According to the judge, the investigation into the alleged murder was “shabby” and an “absolute mess”, and should have been struck out by the magistrate who presided over the hearing of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI).
Justice George told the accused that she usually “don’t” say much in cases like this, and he, the accused had suffered grave injustice after being imprisoned for a crime of which the police had no positive knowledge of the person/ s responsible.
After asking the accused who was now smiling broadly in the prisoners’ dock to stand, Justice George explained that as a result of the prosecution’s failing miserably to prove to the court that he indeed killed Sookra, she had found him innocent of the charge, and so he was free to leave the court. But not before the foreman of the 12-member jury panel was instructed to return a not guilty verdict on the accused.

Hearing of voir dire
During the hearing of evidence into the voir dire, four police witnesses were called by the prosecution.
Inspector Singh testified that after five months of investigation into the murder of Sookra, Glasgow was arrested on January 25, 2005, subsequent to him receiving positive evidence from anonymous persons. The policeman in his evidence, told the court that following the arrest of the accused, during lawful interrogation, Glasgow under caution, admitted to murdering Sookra.
Williams, in his argument, told the court that Glasgow was arrested on January 25, 2005, at the East Coast minibus park by a “phantom gang” and taken to several police lock ups on the East Coast and Georgetown, without the knowledge of his family and eight days later, according to police records, he was taken to court for an unknown offence.
Glasgow was 17 years old at the time of his arrest. According to the attorney, the shady movements of the police clearly shows that investigators had much to hide after inflicting serious injuries on the young man.
The lawyer stated that the 72-hour detention period had elapsed, and it was not until eight days after Glasgow was arrested, he was eventually charged for Sookra’s death.

Agonising years
According to Glasgow, it is agonising to be imprisoned for a crime one is not guilty of. The man, who was weeping bitterly, stated that he had lost all the enjoyment of being a normal teenager as a result of a crime that was pinned on him by the police.
Yet, the young man gave thanks to God and his family for sticking by his side throughout his sufferings.
Questioned about his plans in relation to his reintegration into society, all Glasgow said: “Man, I am grateful, only the father knows how happy I am when the judge made her ruling. It was the most depressing seven years of my life in prison, all I want is to go home.” None of the deceased’s relatives were in court when the ruling was handed down.