NORWICH — Despite saying he did not want to take the stand in his own defense in Chenango County Court Wednesday, alleged murderer Ganesh R. Ramsaran opted to testify Thursday.
Ramsaran provided the jurors some of his personal background, telling them he was born Amsterdam in the Netherlands and moved to the Bronx in New York at the age of 12.
The defendant recalled his high school years playing various sports, including football, lacrosse and wrestling. Based on his shorter stature, he said he had to play with no fear and show that he could perform with the larger or taller athletes.
This is when he said he acquired various nicknames: G-man, G, Captain G-man and #1 were some that the defendant recalled. His favorite, he said, was Psycho. “I was the smallest out there. I was always playing hard,” said Ramsaran. He said he owns jackets with the nickname embroidered on them, jackets he said Jennifer Ramsaran wore “all the time.”
Ramsaran was charged by the government with second degree murder for allegedly killing his wife, Jennifer Ramsaran.
He said the nickname just stuck, and when asked by his defense attorney Gilberto Garcia if he had ever been violent or charged with assault or a domestic violence charge, Ramsaran said no.
Ramsaran explained to the jury how he met, and later fell in love with Jennifer. He provided a synopsis of their relationship and why they moved their family to New York from Arizona in 2006. The defendant said he and Jennifer purchased their New Berlin home because the Unadilla Valley Central School was a “fantastic school,” and the two have three children.
Throughout Ramsaran’s testimony, McBride objected incessantly, often being sustained by Chenango County Court Judge Frank B. Revoir Jr.
Garcia asked his client if he was nervous.
“Extremely,” said Ramsaran. “I’m here fighting for my life.”
Garcia, McBride, and Revoir all told Ramsaran at various points — in different manners — to quiet down and answer only the question asked. McBride’s questions came in the form of objections, stating that Ramsaran was not directly responding to the question and was continuing to talk after the answers were said. The defendant was reminded multiple times that he is not allowed to say what anyone has ever told him; he can only testify as to what he himself said, did, or felt (if deemed relevant by the court).
Garcia tried to calm his client as he was visibly emotional a number of times and began speaking out of turn.
“Are you a person who talks more than he should?” asked Garcia.
“Absolutely,” said Ramsaran after apologizing to the jury for continuing to speak after answering the previous question — a question that was related to the duties of his employment.
Ramsaran discussed various vacations the family took in the year 2012. Some trips included the “whole family,” which he said included Eileen Sayles and her children. Ramsaran has admitted numerous times to having an affair with Sayles, the victim’s best friend.
“I should have never had the affair,” said Ramsaran. “It should have been done differently.”
Asked Garcia, “Did you lie to your wife?”
“Absolutely,” said Ramsaran. “Yes I did. I felt very guilty.”
The defendant testified that he did not treat Jennifer any differently as a result of having the affair. He said he treated her the way he always had.
“I loved her, and I always will,” Ramsaran said. “I loved them both.”
Ramsaran recalled that he and Sayles broke up and got back together a number of times throughout their affair. He said that he and Sayles had gotten back together, and he told the jury he realized that if he was going to be with Sayles, he would need to get a divorce.
Ramsaran said he spoke to Jennifer about divorce the first week in July, 2012. According to the defendant, the discussion resulted in an argument about Jennifer’s usage of her iPod Touch.
Defense counsel asked why Ramsaran wanted a divorce. “She wasn’t the same person,” Ramsaran said. “I know I wasn’t.”
The defendant said he brought up divorce on three occasions and each time, it resulted in an argument.
“Did you ever tell your wife the truth about your affair? Did you tell Jennifer you loved someone else?” asked Garcia.
Said Ramsaran, “I did not.”
“I loved (Sayles). I loved Jennifer. We all had a great relationship,” said Ramsaran. “Jen started to change. And yes, I changed over the years.”
Ramsaran said Jennifer began pulling away from him and the children, and that she began looking at different homes for sale in New Berlin. He said he was blindsided and upset when he learned Jennifer was looking at different houses.
According to Ramsaran, Jennifer stopped doing laundry and housework, and in April, 2012, she began spending an “extreme amount of time” on her iPod touch. Prior testimony said Jennifer used the game she played on the device to converse with men worldwide.
While he did not file divorce papers, Ramsaran said he discussed wanting a divorce from Jennifer to a handful of people. He said he told them whatever Jennifer wanted from him from the divorce was fine, and he would accommodate her wishes.
Garcia then had Ramsaran begin with the morning of Dec. 11, 2012, and narrate everything he did the day his wife disappeared.
Ramsaran said he saw Jennifer come out of the master bedroom at approximately 8:50 a.m. that morning.
“It was not your knowledge she was dead?” asked Garcia.
“Not even close,” said Ramsaran. “My wife was not dead.”
More than once during questioning, Ramsaran testified, “I did not kill my wife.”
Garcia asked his client to go minute-by-minute or event-by-event from the morning of Dec. 11, 2012 — including what or if Ramsaran ate, slept, watched TV, interacted with his children, took the children to school, or used his phone.
Ramsaran recalled the morning of Jennifer’s disappearance and said she kissed him on the cheek before leaving the house. He said he was unsure of whether he responded to a work email before or after Jennifer left, but the email was sent at 10:53 a.m. He testified that she left the house between 10 and 11 a.m.
He then said he dressed in shorts, an undershirt, sweatshirt, baseball cap, socks and sneakers and opted to go for a run because it was sunny.
Ramsaran said there were two routes he often took when running to the Norwich Family YMCA and could not recall the route he took that morning. He described both to the jury, and gave both versions to law enforcement.
After getting to the YMCA, he used the phone to attempt to call Jennifer, and received no response. He could not leave a voicemail because he said she had not yet set it up on her phone. And spending a few minutes in the sauna and working out, Ramsaran called Sayles asking for a ride home because he said he was cold — due to the cold temperatures and rain that was falling.
“Are you sure it’s not because you were busy dumping your wife’s body?” asked Garcia.
“I’m absolutely sure.”
With regard to not recalling which exact route he ran that morning, Ramsaran said, “I don't remember, to be honest. Those days got blurred, so much stress. The weight of the world is dropping on me like a ton of bricks. I don’t remember.”
The defendant said he arrived at the YMCA that morning from the west. He said he knew that because he always goes to the Plymouth church, which is from the west.
“Are you sure you were not running through the back of Howard Johnson’s?” asked Garcia. “Are you sure you weren’t running from Plank Road Manor?”
“No, not Howard Johnsons,” said Ramsaran. “And I am sure that I did not run or walk from Plank Road Manor to the YMCA.”
According to prior testimony from the government’s witnesses, Ramsaran told multiple people at the YMCA that his wife had gone shopping in Syracuse.
“Were you telling everyone she was shopping because you had just killed her?” asked Garcia.
McBride objected to the question, which was sustained by Revoir, and Ramsaran was not permitted to answer.
Ramsaran said he and Jennifer had never gone that many hours as they had that day without at least a text or a phone call.
The defendant said he called Thomas Renz, Jennifer’s father, at approximately 4:30 p.m. to see if he had heard from Jennifer.
Ramsaran said once it got dark, he began to get more worried, and was texting multiple people to see if they'd heard from Jennifer. He said he did not notify the children because he didn’t want them to worry.
Once the children were put to bed, Ramsaran said he decided to call the police. “I was borderline freaking out,” said Ramsaran. “I don’t think we’ve ever gone that long throughout our whole relationship without talking. I was really, really worried.”
When a New Berlin police officer arrived, Ramsaran said he was in tears and said he wasn’t sure what was going on. He told the jury he did not tell the officer that his marriage with Jennifer was perfect.
“I did not say that, no,” said Ramsaran. “The answer is no.”
Garcia asked, “Did you want Jennifer out of your life?”
Ramsaran said emphatically, “No.”
The defendant explained how he located Jennifer’s phone on Moon Hill Road in Plymouth on Dec. 12, 2012.
He said he tried multiple times to find a signal on the Find My iPhone app, but was not able to until he was at the New Berlin Police Station in the presence of former New Berlin Police Chief Dominic Commesso.
Both Ramsaran and Commesso testified that when the app was opened at the station, a green dot appeared, along with a map. Both said the dot on the map was moving.
It was later that day that Ramsaran said Commesso gave him permission to try to find the van — which he believed had the phone in it — but was instructed to call 911 if he were to locate it. He was told not to touch anything he found.
Ramsaran said he followed the map and it took him to the area of Moon Hill Road. He said there was no place to park so he parked near the riverbank. The defendant recalled he kept hitting “play sound” in an attempt to hear the phone. He said he heard it, but could not see it. Ramsaran said he could see — based on the app — the phone’s charge, and saw that the battery life was red (or very low), to the point where it did not show the percentage of battery life remaining anymore.
When he saw the phone, Ramsaran said he did not touch it, called 911, and waited for authorities to arrive. Not long after, he said he went home alone.
Garcia asked if his client took Route 23 home, passing by the apartment complex where Jennifer’s van was found days later by Jennifer’s father.
“I sure did,” said Ramsaran.
Asked Garcia, “Did you find Jennifer’s van?”
“No,” said Ramsaran.
Ramsaran said Chenango County Sheriff’s Detectives Kevin Powell and John Fern arrived at his home shortly after and that he provided to them anything they asked for. Jennifer’s sister arrived shortly after and was interviewed by one of the detectives. According to Ramsaran, his children arrived home from school when the detectives were at the home, and he had to introduce them to the police. He said that is how two of the children learned their mother was missing. The oldest daughter was told by Ramsaran when she walked into a room when he was crying.
Ramsaran said his parents came up to New Berlin that evening. Garcia asked Ramsaran what happened when his parents arrived. The defendant said it was the first time he had ever seen his father cry.
McBride objected to Ramsaran’s answer.
He said he went 48 hours without sleep, and made multiple calls and sent text messages to various individuals with hopes they had heard from Jennifer.
Asked Garcia, “Did you ever go out looking for Jennifer’s body?”
“No,” said Ramsaran.
Defense counsel continued his line of questioning of a play-by-play of the defendant’s life from Dec. 11, 2012 through Dec. 13, 2012. The questioning took the entire court day, and Garcia has not completed his direct examination.
Court was adjourned until Monday when Ramsaran will continue his direct testimony.