TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: CHARFORD COURT MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2009 OXFORD STREET MURDER

November 13, 2024:

A Charford Court man has been convicted of the 2009 murder of Michael “Boy Boy” Mader in Port of Spain.
Shirvan Toussaint, known by the aliases “Tallman” and “Buddies,” was sentenced to death on November 11, 2024 after he was found guilty by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds.
Ramsumair-Hinds returned her verdict on the case, finding Toussaint guilty of murder and multiple firearms charges, while acquitting him on attempted murder and intent-to-harm charges related to another victim.
Toussaint chose a judge-only trial, allowing for a verdict solely determined by the presiding judge. The trial began in September.
Prosecutors led evidence from 21 witnesses, seven of whom gave evidence in person, including key eyewitness Sparkle Williams.
Williams said she was walking with Mader on Oxford Street on September 28, 2009, after visiting her sister in the hospital.
A verbal confrontation between Mader and the man, identified by Williams as Toussaint, escalated into a violent struggle, culminating in Mader’s fatal shooting.
Williams said she knew Toussaint from the Charford Court area.
She said from Oxford Street, she and Mader, who was the father of her sister’s child, entered the alley between the panyard and the river when Toussaint called out to Mader, saying, “Boy Boy, allyuh kill Ron.”
Williams said Mader replied, “Buddies wah you talkin’ bout?” Williams testified that she saw Toussaint draw a gun and that Mader attempted to disarm him.
After a brief struggle, shots were fired, fatally injuring Mader. As Williams watched, Toussaint shot Mader a second time as he lay on the ground, then allegedly pointed the firearm at her and fired again. Williams was unharmed and fled to Harpe Place to inform Mader’s family.
In her verdict, 103 pages long, Ramsumair-Hinds said from the evidence she was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt Toussaint shot Mader with the intention to kill him. In deciding the case, Ramsumair-Hinds said she assessed the evidence, particularly the credibility of Williams’ eyewitness testimony, which was deemed reliable despite the defense's arguments about potential weaknesses in her identification of Toussaint.
However, the judge was not convinced Toussaint attempted to kill Williams or intended to harm her.
Toussaint did not testify at the trial. However, his attorneys argued that Williams’ identification of Toussaint as the shooter was erroneous and suggested that her account may have been influenced by third parties. His defence was based on denial, mistaken identity and fabrication.
Toussaint was arrested on October 3, 2009, at Piarco International Airport while attempting to board a flight to the United States with his mother.
Prosecutors Charmaine Samuel and Guliana Guy represented the State while Danielle Rampersad and Randall Raphael also represented Toussaint.