THE death of George Bacchus, a main witness in the Preliminary Inquiry proceedings against murder accused Ashton King and Sean Hinds could frustrate the defence.
Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, Attorney-at-Law Vic Puran who is representing Ashton King, said that the defence is of the view that after a full inquiry his client would have been found innocent.
However, the death of Bacchus is a great tragedy since King will be unable to establish his innocence in the near future.
“This is not a case where we were saying prove what you said if you can,” Mr. Puran said. He further added, “The fact that he has died has sickened me. It really does not speak well for the future of Guyana.”
When asked if the death of Bacchus could mean that there is likely to be no case against his client Mr. Puran said, “It’s up to the DPP to say if they have more witnesses. We are not privy to the state’s case, so we really don’t know how many witnesses the prosecution has.”
Earlier this week, Puran called for an investigation into the revelations that the Chief Magistrate was among persons who are targeted for execution.
As a result she withdrew from presiding over the PI.
Puran had also stated that the PI is suffering because of Bacchus’s absence from the inquiry. However, the state had not called Bacchus to the stand. He was likely to be called early next month.
Meanwhile, Kaieteur News understands that the Preliminary Inquiry has been handed over to Magistrate Adrian Thompson. It should start all over again next Wednesday.