KITTI MAN PLEADS "NOT GUILTY" TO MURDER CHARGE

May 2, 2011

By Bill Jaynes
The Kaselehlie Press

April 27, 2011 Pohnpei, FSM-Raynard Une Anson of Kitti was arraigned yesterday at the Pohnpei State Supreme Court on charges related to the death of recently retired Pohnpei State Police Captain Joseph Abraham.

Anson's attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his client's behalf.

The prosecuting attorney moved to deny bail for Anson. Since Anson was arrested on April 8 he has been held at the Pohnpei State Correctional Facility. Prosecutor Jack Harris said that he expects that there will be a ruling on the matter of bail by this Friday.

On March 2 of this year, the body of Joseph Abraham was found in a river in Kitti near the Nanpei Memorial High School. He had suffered multiple head wounds. Police suspected that Abraham had not been the victim of an accident of falling as they had been told but that he had been murdered. A source close to the investigation said that the wounds were not consistent with a falling accident.

Police could not immediately prove their suspicions and conducted a forensic investigation of physical evidence.

Another spokesperson at the Office of the Attorney General said that a witness who had been silent for a month and a half came forward and spoke to Police about the matter. Harris did not say what the witness told police and also would not say whether or not the physical evidence corroborated the statement of the tardy witness.

He did say that Anson is accused of having beaten the victim to death with a piece of lumber.

The collected evidence was enough to convince prosecutors that charges should be filed against Anson who now faces charges of murder, manslaughter, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and negligent homicide.

Anson is assumed to be innocent unless he is proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be guilty of the charges.