By Grace Q. Bryant
Trial jurors in Criminal Court “A” have handed down a “guilty” verdict against defendants Gloria Musu Scott, Rebecca Youdeh, Alice Johnson, and Gertrude Newton for the murder of Charloe Musu.
Yesterday Jurors’ guilty verdict came after heated closing arguments from both parties proving their sides of the case, with one hour, thirty minutes awarded to each party.
During the final argument, Defense relied on the argument that it was a male attacker.
Cllr. Scott’s defense relied on the argument that it was a male intruder who attacked the home and murdered her daughter.
Prosecution, on the other hand, charged the jurors to hold the defendants guilty of the crime charged, because armed robbers will not enter in a home and only attack and kill one person.
After the argument, Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie read the instructions regarding the law to the jury, for which they returned from their deliberation room with a guilty verdict in less than 45 minutes.
Judge Willie instructed the panel jurors that the central claim pertaining to “murder, criminal conspiracy, and making a false statement to law enforcement,” should be proven by reasonable doubt.
The jurors were asked to decide whether the prosecution proved that Scott and three of her family members committed murder or they did not.
After that, each of the jurors was asked separately whether the prosecution proved that the defendants engaged in criminal conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement officers and murder.
The trial also involved a claim and counterclaim by pathologist, Dr. Matthau Okoye, who said Charloe’s murderer was a male, proven by his DNA testing.
However, the Prosecution’s pathologist, Dr. Benedict Kolee, contradicted Okoye’s scientific findings and said it was a female who committed the murder.
But Kolee also said that he did not personally conduct the forensic examination on the body of the deceased, but drew his findings from police sources.
The jury agreed that the Prosecution have proven their claims of murder, so they could bring down a guilty verdict. Thereafter, the defendants will go back to jail as a result of the verdict, to wait for their prison sentence to be delivered by Judge Willie.
To prove the murder claim, the Prosecution is required to prove their allegations by clear and convincing evidence, to which they agreed.
The defendants have spent six months of imprisonment at the Monrovia Central Prison (South Beach).
Meanwhile, lawyers of the defendants have taken exception to the jurors’ ruling, and are expected to file for a new trial, which is by permitted law.
