Berbice man gets life sentence for killing Mahaicony businesswoman

Twenty-seven-year-old Devanand Rampersaud, also called “Julu”, of Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), was on Tuesday given a life sentence for killing Mahaicony businesswoman Bibi Nesha Shairoon-Ali.

Rampersaud pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter when he appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Georgetown High Court on October 2, 2019.
He admitted that between October 15 and October 17, 2016 at Novar, Mahaicony, he killed Ali.
However, on Tuesday, Rampersaud claimed that his only intention was to rob the elderly woman and it was his co-accused, a teenager, who bludgeoned the businesswoman with a frying pan.

He also claimed that he was under the influence of cocaine when he committed the offence. It was also reported that the post-mortem revealed that the woman was sexually molested.
Ali’s body was discovered on October 17, 2016 on the floor of her bedroom. The discovery was made after neighbours had reported that the woman had not been seen for a few days.
After the gruesome discovery, a 14-year-old boy was arrested after the Police received information that he and the businesswoman had a heated argument prior to her demise. Nevertheless, less than a day after the teen was taken into custody, Rampersaud was arrested.
He was charged for the crime, but pleaded not guilty. Following the Preliminary Inquiry (PI), the prosecutor would have provided sufficient evidence and as such, he was committed to stand trial for the murder in the High Court.
It was when he appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon on October 2, he confessed to committing the murder and pleaded guilty to a less count of manslaughter.