More than five years after the mutilated bodies of teenage cousins Joel Henry and Isaiah Henry were found in the backdam at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), two men on Wednesday went on trial before a 12-member jury at the Berbice High Court for their murders.
Anil Sancharra, called “Dan Pole” and “Rasta”, 37, of D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice, and Vinod Gopaul, called “Magga”, 38, of Yakusari, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, both pleaded not guilty when the indictments were read before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.
The State is alleging that between September 5 and 6, 2020, the two men murdered 19-year-old Joel Henry and his 16-year-old cousin, Isaiah Henry.
The case is being prosecuted by state counsel Marisa Edwards, while the accused are being represented by attorney-at-law Dr Dexter Todd of Dexter Todd and Associates.
In opening the State’s case to the jury, Edwards said the two cousins left home on September 5, 2020, and failed to return, prompting relatives and residents to form a search party.
She told the jury that the state will seek to prove that the two accused used cutlasses to chop the teenagers before dumping their bodies in the backlands, where they were later found.
The State is expected to call 45 witnesses during the proceedings, including 16 Police Officers, three close family members of the deceased teenagers, 20 persons from the surrounding communities, five additional witnesses and a pathologist.
The killings of the Henry cousins had sparked national outrage, days of protests and calls for justice after their bodies were found bearing multiple chop wounds.
Initially, three men had been charged in connection with the murders: Gopaul; Sancharra; and Akash Singh, called “Monkey”. However, it was later reported that Singh became a key prosecution witness during the preliminary inquiry.
The state is expected to call its first witness today. The trial is expected to last until the end of the month.
Discover more from Guyana Times
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
