Judge to decide fate of key evidence in 2015 Lehigh Acres murder case

A family has waited nearly a decade for justice after their father died in Lehigh Acres on a horrific night in March 2015. They will be in court on Wednesday as the suspect’s legal team pushes to suppress key evidence before the trial even begins. Lawyers for 30-year-old Christopher Eddie Perez are arguing that his statement to investigators should be suppressed, saying it was obtained illegally. Perez’s attorneys claim that Perez was improperly recorded during a smoke break and that he was requested to have legal representation during questioning but was not provided with legal representation. Additionally, they argue that Perez made statements under the impression that doing so would result in preferential treatment. This evidence is crucial to law enforcement as Perez faces murder charges for his alleged role in a deadly home invasion. On March 15, 2015, Lee County deputies said Perez and others broke into a home on Plumosa Avenue in Lehigh Acres. According to deputies, Hemchand Bhagwandin and his wife were held at gunpoint, bound with zip ties and beaten. Bhagwandin died of a heart attack during the attack. For Shardawattie Bisram, Bhagwandin’s daughter, the memories of that night remain fresh and painful. “Wow. Shock, shock, devastation. I didn’t believe it was true,” Bisram said. Almost ten years later, she will face her father’s accused murderer for the first time. “It won’t be a happy time.” “It will be a very difficult time,” she said. For the Bhagwandin family, Perez’s testimony is a cornerstone of the case. They worry that a loss could change the outcome. “I think it’s part of the first step in getting justice,” Bisram said. “I think it’s a tragedy. I think it’s tragic that he made a confession and now it wants to be thrown out.” The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Lee County Courthouse. The family remains confident that this will be the first step toward the justice they have waited nearly a decade for. “I really hope that the judge can see and understand what we feel and maybe understand why we wanted to proceed in our favor,” Bisram said.