A MURDER trial more than a decade and a half in the making collapsed within hours on Monday, resulting in the acquittal of a man who had spent over 16 years on remand.
Sheldon Fraser, also known as “Malcolm James” and “Arnold,” walked free from the Port of Spain High Court after Justice Devan Rampersad upheld a no-case submission following the State’s failure to produce evidence linking him to the 2009 killing of Sunil Sookdeo.
The matter arose out of an incident on September 13, 2009, at the Chicken Cheap Poultry Depot in Point Fortin.
Prosecutors alleged that two men entered the establishment and announced a robbery. During the encounter, Sookdeo reportedly attempted to defend himself with a chair, triggering a struggle during which a firearm was discharged. He was fatally wounded, and the assailants fled.
Fraser was jointly charged with Rajnath Bridgelal, who pleaded guilty to the offence in 2024. Fraser, however, denied involvement and elected to stand trial.
The State’s case hinged on an alleged confession said to have been made by Fraser to a fellow inmate, Simon Ovid, in 2010. Ovid, who had been serving a sentence for felony murder at the time, was the prosecution’s central witness.
However, the evidential foundation of that claim had already been undermined during a 2015 magisterial inquiry, where Ovid disavowed any knowledge of the offence and asserted that the statement attributed to him had been fabricated by the investigating officer, Peter Ramdeen.
When called to testify on Monday, Ovid maintained that position under oath, telling the court he neither gave nor signed any statement implicating Fraser.
The prosecution, led by attorneys Destinee Gray and Makira Mendez, was unable to advance its case further after indicating that Ramdeen – whose evidence was critical to proving the disputed statement – could not be located and was believed to be outside the jurisdiction.
The court also heard that the sole eyewitness, who has since died, had failed to identify Fraser during an identification parade in 2010.
Faced with the absence of admissible confession evidence and no eyewitness identification, the State conceded that it could not advance the case.
Fraser was represented by attorney Michelle Ali, instructed by Kameika Peters and assisted by Tyler Marie Lee-King.
