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PAGE 8 THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, JULY 19, 2000 Husband charged with fatal poisioning of wife BY STEPHEN SHAW Staff Writer A Pickering man lias been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal poisoning of his preg- . nant wife, who was found uncon- • scious in her bathroom on Mother's Mother's Day. Hemoutie Raghunauth, 28, was pronounced dead on arrival at Rouge Valley Health, Ajax on May 14. Durham Regional Police and ambulance had responded to the couple's Beaton Way residence, near Brock Road and Finch Avenue, Avenue, following a 911 call at 2:25 ; p.m. by Ganeshram Raghunauth, ; who reported discovering his ; wife on the bathroom floor. An autopsy performed the next day at Lakeridge Health Os- hawa could not pinpoint an : anatomical cause of death and re- ' vealed Mrs. Raghunauth was pregnant. Sergeant Jim Grimley, police department spokesman, said subsequent subsequent toxicology tests were conducted and concluded that Ms. Raghunauth died of poisoning. poisoning. "We believe (her death) was deliberate. The toxicology tests have identified a substance, but we're not prepared to release that information. That will obviously form part of the evidence," Sgt. Grimley said. Durham homicide detectives arrested Mr. Raghunauth at the Newmarket courthouse Friday following his appearance on another another matter, Sgt. Grimley said. The 29-year-old man appeared in Oshawa provincial court briefly Saturday morning and was remanded into custody until his next court dale on Aug. 17. Mrs. Raghunauth worked at a Markham financial institution, Allied International, and the couple couple has a one-year-old son who is now in the care of family members. members. Police said the couple had no known history of domestic violence violence and homicide investigators are still exploring several possible possible motives for the murder. His arrest on a first-degree murder charge is the most serious in a mounting heap of trouble for Mr. Raghunauth. He is also currently facing numerous numerous fraud and theft charges in two jurisdictions outside Durham Region. Mr. Raghunauth was charged last month by Toronto Police with attempted fraud over $5,000, fraud over $5,000 and personation with intent in an alleged alleged bogus cheque-cashing scheme resulting in potential losses of $180,000 by his former employer, A and A Jewelers. According to Toronto police, fraudulent cheques were deposited deposited into accounts opened under a phony identity at a Royal Bank branch and the Hepcoe Credit Union in Scarborough between September 1999 and May. Following a bail hearing, he was released on a $10,000 recognizance recognizance with conditions to report to police three times weekly and turn over any travel documents. Despite the ongoing probe into her suspicious death, Mrs. Raghunauth's family members signed as his surety. Then on June 28, while on bail, Mr. Raghunauth was stopped by U.S. customs officers as he attempted to cross the border border at the Peace Bridge, police confirmed Monday. He was arrested for possession of stolen property and breach of ' recognizance and held in custody in Toronto. His legal problems worsened when, upon his release last Thursday, Mr. Raghunauth was arrested by York Regional Police. He was charged with possession of stolen properly under $5,000, theft under and fraudulent use of a patient's credit card at York Central Hospital, where Mr. Raghunauth worked recently in the financial department. The alleged alleged offences took place in April, York police said. Minutes after being freed on bail on the York charges, Mr. Raghunauth was arrested on the murder charge by Durham police detectives, Sgt. Grimley said. All of the charges remain before before the courts. Meanwhile, a request through police to interview members of Mrs. Raghunauth's family was denied. Sgt. Grimley said the victim's victim's mother is still too distraught over her daughter's death while her father is in poor health. According to a neighbour, Mr. Raghunauth said he discovered his wife after returning home with his son and his father, who had been visiting the family from Guyana. Police say the case is Durham's third homicide this year and each death has been of a domestic nature. A.J. GROEN/ Statesman photo New library coming BOWMANVILLE - Construction is now under way on a $S.3-million expansion of the Clarington municipal municipal centre, which will include a new main branch library. library. From left are Brenda Corrigan, library board vice-chairman, Cynthia Mearns, library director, and Mayor Wayne Hamre. In the background is councillor Jim Schell. Durham women invited ; to workshops I Two workshops, part of a pro- ; gram designed to help abused women gain financial security through jobs, will be held in Durham Region this summer. The free workshops are part of SMART Inc.'s free innovative Decisions Decisions for Employment Action personal personal development and employability employability program, funded by the federal government. On July 25, Watering Weeds will help women appreciate who they are and what their great accomplishments accomplishments are. The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. iii Pickering Village. On Aug. 22, The Challenge of Change will help women discover' tools and techniques to deal with change. The workshop will be held in Oshawa from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Break Free is a federally-funded initiative through which experienced experienced professionals offer free confidential, confidential, individualizes services in the areas of career decision-making, ^personal development workshops, i resume and cover letters, computer jaccess and job search. Subsidies for t'daycare and transportation may be I'available. !! 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