Indian
businessman, Fazal Sayed was Monday sentenced to life in prison
with hard labour after a high court found him guilty of the murder
of his wife, Gillian Celestine-Sayed, 26, in July 2002.
Sayed, a native of Mumbai, India, hung his head is disbelief as
High Court Judge, Justice Kenneth Benjamin read out the verdict
in front of an almost packed court room.
As he left the building, Sayed broke down in tears as reality hit
that he has to spend the rest of his life at the Richmond Hill Prison.
The 37-year old businessman was charged for the murder of Gillian
of La Borie, St. Paul¹s, whose body was found with multiple
stab wounds including one to her throat on a beach in Bailes Bacolet,
St David¹s by members of the Special Services Unit (SSU) who
were on the hunt for an escaped prisoner.
Within hours of the murder, Sayed fled the island and was heading
for his homeland when he was picked up by police officers in England.
He was only deported back to Grenada to stand trial when the State
gave the British authorities the assurances that the murder suspect
would not face the death penalty.
The prosecution¹s team presented evidence to the Court that
the cut on Gillian was deliberate and intentional, and was done
with the clear purpose to kill.
The defence team led by Barrister-at-law Anslem Clouden and accompanied
by Cajeton Hood tried to argue that the cut was accidentally administered
during a struggle between the accused and the deceased.
Clouden told the court that his client was sorry for what he did
to Gillian. He argued that the reason his client fled the country
was because of the threats issued by the family of his late wife
and that all Sayed wanted was a fair trial which he demonstrated
when he surrendered himself in England.
He termed the murder of Gillian as not premeditated and said the
incident was merely a crime of the moment. Clouden pleaded
with the court for mercy to be shown to Sayed and asked for a sentence
other than life imprisonment to be imposed on Sayed in light of
the time already spent in prison both in Grenada and England.
The lawyer said that he will need time to study the case before
taking a decision on whether to file an appeal. DPP Christopher
Nelson pointed out that he would have gone for the peak penalty
sentenced to hang had it not been for the agreement
between Grenada and England.
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