A 12-member jury in Guyana has found Awena Rutherford, 25, guilty of killing two of her children through poisoning.
Rutherford allegedly gave her one-year-old Jabari Codogan and four-year-old Odascia Codogan two halves of one carbon tablet, which caused their deaths on March 27, 2014.
The accused, however, maintained that she thought she was buying cold tablets for them.
“Who would go to the Plaisance Bus Park to buy cold tablets from a man that sells rat poison?” was the question State Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken had put to the 12 member-jury during her closing address at Rutherford’s manslaughter trial on Wednesday.
She also drank two of the same tablets and was hospitalised for several days.
During the hearing before Justice Navinda Singh, Jabari Codogan Sr, testified via Skype from Brooklyn, New York that he supported his children even after he separated from Rutherford.
Althogh, he communicated with them every day, he not told that they were suffering from a cold.
Awena and the children were staying with the defendant’s sister, Monica Sealey and her husband Curt, who both testified that they never noticed the children suffering from any cold symptoms prior to their deaths.
Rutherford maintained that she never bought rat poison and that the police treated her unfairly.
However, multiple police witnesses maintained that Rutherford repeatedly said she was stressed and had problems and that she indeed gave her children the supposed cold tablets.
Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, confirmed that the children died from pesticide poisoning by way of ingesting aluminium phosphate, which is commonly known as carbon tablets.
After the jury’s decision, Rutherford was heard screaming and she subsequently collapsed on the courtroom floor.
Justice Singh left the bench after 20 minute of her being on the floor and adjourned the matter to Friday for sentencing.
(INEWS GUYANA)
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
