Berbice labourer charged with murdering, dumping missing man in swamp

Ravi Henry, a 26-year-old labourer of West Canje Berbice, was on Friday remanded to prison by New Amsterdam Magistrate Michelle Mathias for the murder of 56-year-old Dhanindranauth Surujnauth Mahadeo, whose decomposed body was found in a swampy area days after he had gone missing.
Henry was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleged that between June 17 and 22, at Vryheid Village, West Canje Berbice, he murdered Mahadeo, also called ‘Charlie’.
The partly-decomposed body of the 56-year-old victim was subsequently discovered in a swampy area in Vryheid Village, and an autopsy conducted by Government Pathologist Dr Vivekanand Bridgemohan gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.
Dr Bridgemohan also found that the victim’s skull had been fractured, and a finger on his left hand had sustained a cut.
Henry would again be in court for a police progress report on August 2.

RECAP

The victim Mahadeo had left his home at Lot 10 Caracas, Vryheid, West Canje Berbice on June 17 to visit a female friend, but he never returned home.
Two days later, a missing person’s report was filed at Central Police Station in New Amsterdam; and on Saturday last, police received an anonymous call about a body found in a swampy area in Vryheid Village, West Canje.
A team of police officers visited the location and found a body in stage three decomposition in a swamp with dense vegetation.
One person who has been taken into custody has since admitted to killing Mahadeo. That suspect told investigators on Thursday that he met Mahadeo who was on his way home, and they started a conversation which resulted in an argument.
The 26-year-old suspect told detectives that he armed himself with a piece of iron and hit Mahadeo several times to different parts of his body; and after realizing that the man was dead, he disposed of his body in the swamp.