Death of shopkeeper: 34-year-old slapped with manslaughter charge

Thirty-four-year-old Fabian Smith, the prime suspect in the killing of a Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) shopkeeper, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with manslaughter.
Smith was not required to plead to the indictable charge after it was read to him by Magistrate Christel Lambert at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
The case was adjourned to August 25.
Guyana Times had previously reported that Andrew Harris, called “Short Man”, a shopkeeper of Surinamo Landing, Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), was found dead at ‘Mer Meria’ Backdam, Middle Mazaruni River, at sometime between July 31 and August 1.

Police reports indicate that 55-year-old Harris and Smith had been working together for the past 10 days on a newly-built shop owned by a 52-year-old businesswoman of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
According to that businesswoman, Smith contacted her on Tuesday, August 1, at about 10:00h, and informed her of the tragic discovery of Harris’s lifeless body at the shop.
Upon reaching the scene, investigators found Harris’s body in a slouched position on a bench, with apparent bloodstains on his jersey and the surrounding area. Further examination revealed a 3-inch -wide stab wound on his upper left chest. Smith was subsequently apprehended at a nearby camp.
According to a statement from the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Smith confessed to stabbing Harris during a video-recorded interview. (G1)