By Latrishka Thomas
Trial proceedings for the alleged murderer of Monique Michelle Rudder-DaCosta has begun.
Four years ago, Terrance “Toby” Weatherhead was remanded to prison for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, a mother of two.
Yesterday, the 32-year-old New Street man appeared before Justice Stanley John in the High Court where the prosecution called their first witnesses.
An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) testified to having arrived at the New Street home in July 2015, where he said the deceased was found with no pulse, blood on her lip and a bloodshot eye.
He also claimed to have seen a broken glass with blood on the floor.
The defence’s cross examination sought to ascertain if the victim had any other injuries when found. The EMT said that no other injuries were evident.
The medical technician also said that at the time the accused told him that the incident occurred due to the deceased beating her head against a wall.
The second witness, a ward assistant from the Fiennes Institute, claimed to have been visiting a friend who lived near the deceased when she heard children screaming for help.
She said she heard them calling her friend’s name and saying, “Daddy said to call the ambulance … something happened to mommy.”
Having heard those screams, both women rushed over and found the victim half naked in a bedroom to the back of the house and she appeared to be already dead, the witness said.
According to the ward assistant, the defendant said several different things when asked what had happened. He said he did not know what happened but then said that the deceased drank something.
The ward assistant also testified that the defendant ran up the street when she said to him: “You know she’s dead, right?”
The 45-year-old mother of two was found dead in her New Street home sometime after 8pm on Wednesday, July 8th 2015.
Some witnesses at the time testified to seeing the deceased run out the house half naked and then running back inside. It was when everything went silent that they became worried.
It is believed that Rudder-DaCosta was killed by her lover over a domestic dispute. At the time of the incident, the victim’s two children, aged 6 and 15, were also at home.