By Leroy Smith
Forty – seven – year – old Matthew Munroe, who is a Taxi Driver and a Public Relations Consultant, was today charged with the capital offence of murder in relation to the death of Kescia Branche, a 22-year-old secondary school teacher.
The charge was read to the man approximately one month after Kescia died without regaining consciousness at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The father of six of 19th Street, Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was remanded to prison until January 9, 2018, by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. He was represented by Attorney, George Thomas.
Munroe arrived at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court dressed in a long sleeve stripe shirt tucked into his blue jeans minus a belt and grey and white high top sneakers. He arrived in an unmarked police vehicle with ranks from the Criminal Investigations Department. He was also shackled and wore handcuffs.
After he was escorted to the courtroom, he sat in the prisoners’ dock while communicating with his lawyer intermittently through the colonial woodwork of the docks. When he was not communicating with his lawyer, the man appeared very calm and was observed peeping over his glasses towards the door which leads to the chambers of the Chief Magistrate as he awaited her arrival on the bench.
Branche, a teacher of the Richard Ishmael Secondary School, died on November 07, 2017. She was found lying on the roadside in an unconscious state two days prior.
A post-mortem which was performed on the remains of the teacher found that she died as a result of blunt trauma to the head and haemorrhage.
The police had arrested several persons for questioning in relation to her death, including policemen who were in contact with her on the night and morning she was last seen alive.
Police had impounded Munroe’s car at the Brickdam Police Station. Munroe was reportedly the same person who Branche last had telephone contact with.
News Room also understands that the man fled the country the morning after Branche was found unconscious at the corner of Louisa Row and Princes Street, Georgetown on November 05, 2017.
