Elmer Nah maintains innocence following court ruling over evidence | PT 1

Decision day arrived today in the triple murder trial of Elmer Nah, as the High Court ruled on whether key pieces of evidence challenged during a voir dire could be admitted into the main trial.  This morning, Justice Nigel Pilgrim delivered his ruling, finding that all evidence previously examined during the voir dire, including video footage, footwear impression evidence, and the statement of the late Vivian Ramnarace, is admissible and will now form part of the substantive trial. The ruling follows months of legal arguments led by both the Crown and the Defence since hearings began in June this year.  Elmer Nah is on trial for three counts of murder arising from the December 31, 2022, shooting at the Ramnarace family home in Belmopan, which claimed the lives of Jon Ramnarace, David Ramnarace, and Vivian Ramnarace. A fourth victim survived the attack.  A central feature of today’s ruling relates to the statement given by Vivian Ramnarace while hospitalized after the shooting. Justice Pilgrim ruled that her statement qualifies as a dying declaration under the Evidence Act and can be placed before the tribunal of fact. In that statement, given to police in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, Ramnarace described the events of the night, her injuries, the lighting conditions, and identified the alleged gunman as the individual later charged, Elmer Nah. The judge emphasized that while the deceased cannot be cross-examined, the statement is not automatically excluded and may be weighed by the court alongside other evidence.  Justice Pilgrim noted that the role of the court at this stage is not to determine guilt, but to assess whether the evidence taken at its highest, could support a conviction, leaving issues of reliability and weight to be determined at the appropriate stage of the trial.  Following the ruling, Special Prosecutor Terrence Williams, K.C., representing the Crown, explained the significance of the court’s decision. Get the latest updates at LoveFM.com and be sure to follow us online: Instagram   / lovefmbz   Facebook   / lovefmbelize   Twitter   / lovefmbz   TikTok   / lovefmbelize   #Belize #News #LoveFMBelize