Accused on trial for murder of British teen to know fate on Tuesday

Aaron Hing who is on trial for the murder of his godbrother Dominic Bernard, the British teenager who was found buried in a shallow grave in the backlands of Nurney, Corentyne, Berbice in 2016, will know his fate on Tuesday, when the jury is expected to retire to deliberate on a verdict.
Hing and his friend Staymon George were jointly charged with the teen’s murder. On October 4, George pleaded guilty to the capital offence of murder, and was sentenced by Justice Sandil Kissoon to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 35 years.
Hing, on the other hand, had also pleaded guilty to the crime, but did not accept the facts presented by Special Prosecutor Attorney-at-law Latchmie Rahamat. After he gave his version of the facts, Justice Kissoon entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, and empanelled a jury to hear his trial.
Prosecutor Rahamat called more than 20 witnesses to testify on behalf of the State. A caution statement given to the Police by Hing was admitted into evidence. In his defence, Hing, who was represented by lawyer Sanjeev Datadin, opted to give an unsworn testimony.
Justice Kissoon will sum up the evidence in the matter on Tuesday morning, before putting the case to the jury for deliberation on a verdict.
The prosecution’s case is that Dominic Bernard, called “Dom”, 18, had travelled to Guyana from England on October 14, 2015 for a three-week vacation, and was reportedly picked up from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) by Hing and George in a rented car. From there, the trio had gone to a restaurant to have some food.

They later left for the backdam in Berbice. Once they arrived there, they walked to the shallow grave that was dug days before Bernard had arrived in Guyana.
The Prosecutor said that Hing confessed to detectives that he wanted to “get back at” his godbrother, whom he claimed caused him to be arrested in London. Hing then hatched a plan with his friend to rob the teenager, who was expected to arrive with money and other valuables.
Bernard was scheduled to fly back home on November 5, 2015; but after he did not return home, his father Andrew Bernard contacted Hing to enquire about his son’s whereabouts.
The prosecutor said that Hing denied picking up the young man from the CJIA. In light of this, the elder Bernard travelled to Guyana on January 2, 2016, and contacted the Guyana Police Force for assistance with finding his son. According to the Special Prosecutor, Hing was arrested six days later.
But before arresting him, Police had found a shallow grave with a decomposed body, which was later identified as the remains of Dominic Bernard following DNA testing. An autopsy revealed that Dominic Bernard, a young aspiring filmmaker, had been struck to the back of the head. He sustained a fractured skull as well as a broken neck. The prosecutor said that Hing hid the teen’s camera and other items at the back of his house, and later asked his ‘child mother’ to remove them.
The prosecutor said that the murder accused also asked a friend to retrieve the items from his ‘child mother’ and throw them away. The persons who allegedly assisted Hing have been charged with accessory after the fact.
They are: Krystal Thomas, called “Kathy”; Jahmeil Sinclair, called “Fross” or “Bacchus”; and Sinfine Henry, called “Coreen”. It is alleged that between January 4 and 6, 2016, knowing that Hing had committed the offence of murder, they received, comforted, relieved, maintained, harboured, and assisted him.
They have each been placed on $300,000 bail pending the hearing and determination of their trial. (G1)