The day after he allegedly gave a statement to the police denying any knowledge of the kidnapping, subsequent death and dismemberment of businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman, one of the accused men swore to a Justice of the Peace (JP) he had never given any statement about it to police. The statement, allegedly made by Lyndon “Iron” James on May 14, 2007, to retired Supt Nadir Khan and acting Insp Michael Veronique, was read out yesterday as the trial continued before Justice Malcolm Holdip in the Port-of-Spain High Court.
However, on May 15, 2007, when he was interviewed by JP Marissa Singh, James reportedly told her: “I knows nothing of this statement nor did I give it to Khan and Veronique.” Before he allegedly gave the statement, Veronique had arrested James at Piarco Airport as he waited to board a flight to St Vincent. In the statement, James, a clothes vendor, reportedly told the two officers he had been going on vacation and intended to stay with a brother who lived in St Vincent, as he attended to “personal matters.” Asked when he was due to return from the vacation, James is reported to have told Khan he was unsure as the ticket was for seven or 14 days. He also said the ticket had been bought for him by a close female friend and he had collected it at the airport.
During the interview, James allegedly denied knowing or seeing Naipaul-Coolman before or having any knowledge she had been kidnapped. Also testifying yesterday was Dr Muhammad Yunis Ibrahim, the San Juan dentist who helped police identify and confirm Naipaul-Coolman’s dental records. Ibrahim said he first met her at a training seminar prior to 2006. He told the court on April 2, 2006, she came to him seeking professional help for a lower front incisor that was mobile, after which she agreed to remove the tooth and have a permanent replacement made and fitted. Ibrahim said during the treatment, he created a mould of Naipaul-Coolman’s mouth, using plaster of paris and made a temporary acrylic denture which was held in place by two metal clasps to her lower front jaw.
The mould was “stoned” and sent to the lab to fabricate the prosthesis. Ibrahim said he later placed the mould in storage for record-keeping purposes and after a visit from the police on June 28, 2007, he retrieved it and compared the contents of the package presented to him with the mould he had in storage. He concluded in a statement to the officers: “My findings were that the denture presented to me, it fit(ted) perfectly into the mould I had in my records.”
Ibrahim, who yesterday tendered the mould and duplicate denture into evidence, said: “To the best of my opinion, the denture provided by officers was a match for Vindra Naipaul-Coolman.” Under cross-examination by attorney Ulric Skerritt, Ibrahim admitted speaking with Naipaul-Coolman’s husband, Rennie Coolman, soon after her disappearance. However, while he had created a duplicate denture from the mould he had, “of my own volition,” Ibrahim denied it had anything to do with the discussion with Coolman. He explained he never doubted that Naipaul-Coolman would be found and, knowing her, he wanted to be prepared professionally for when she had to face the public.
On trial
Shervon “Buffy” Peters; Keida Garcia; Marlon “Mad Man Marlon” Trimmingham; Earl “Bobo” Trimmingham; Ronald “22” Armstrong; Antonio “Hedges” Charles; Joel “Ninja” Fraser; Lyndon “Iron” James; Allan “Scanny” Martins; Devon “Blackboy” Peters; Anthony Dwayne Gloster, also called Anthony Peters; and Jamile “WASA” Garcia. A 13th accused, Raphael Williams, died in prison in 2011.