Christopher DaSilva, formerly of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD), will spend the next six years behind bars after he changed his plea to guilty at his High Court trial for murder on Tuesday.
DaSilva pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter just days after he initially denied that he was responsible for the June 28, 2012 murder of Rayaad Khan, who was fatally stabbed to his chest with a broken glass bottle, after an altercation.
Christopher DaSilva was sentenced to six years for killing Rayaad Khan
DaSilva’s Defence Attorney, Maxwell McKay appealed for a reasonable sentence, noting that his client took up boxing in jail as a form of anger management. State Prosecutor Siand Dhurjon, however, posited that the court should issue a prison term commensurate with DaSilva’s actions, further noting that Khan was only 17 at the time, handsome, a top student and was “full of potential”.
After DaSilva had disclosed his intentions through his Attorney, Justice Navindra Singh re-arraigned the accused. The Judge later told him that it was unfortunate that the incident occurred, but noted that the court could not allow the crime to go unpunished.
As such, he directed the jury foreman to return a guilty verdict. In handing down the sentence, the presiding Judge took into consideration that the trial had already started, and the accused spent time on remand awaiting trial and showed genuine remorse. Justice Singh started the sentence at 11 years, but took off five years for time spent incarcerated, so DaSilva would serve a six-year prison term, with the possibility of parole.
Moments before the six-year sentence was handed down, DaSilva broke down in tears when he addressed the court. He first apologised to the deceased’s father, Azeem Khan, saying that he was very sorry for what happened. He further noted that his mother was a single parent who had been finding it hard to support him while he was behind bars.
After breaking down in the courtroom, DaSilva emerged somewhat calmer into the corridors, explaining that the sentence was indeed fair.
“It would be a fair sentence, because sometimes you go trial, get [found] guilty and it would just be worse than this,” DaSilva told Guyana Times, pointing out that he would continue boxing.
A post-mortem had revealed that Khan died from shock and haemorrhage owing to a single stab wound to the chest. After the sentencing, Khan’s father stated that while “the sentence was small”, he did feel sorry for DaSilva. He, however, explained that the ruling did not bring closure for him.
“There’s no way that I could get back him and I still miss him a lot, but I hope that the young man redeems himself,” the senior Khan expressed.
The man also highlighted that his only son was an ambitious and hard-working individual.
“He owned his own business even while he was going to school and many times he financed himself when he was going to travel when he was going to the States, Canada or around the Caribbean; even though I have, he told me, “Pops, I have my own money”,” the still grieving father recalled.
DaSilva was 18 years old at the time he stabbed Khan, who resided at Section C, Golden Grove, EBD at the time of his demise. The prosecution’s team, which was assisted by Tuanna Hardy, contended that the stabbing occurred about 20:00h on June 28, 2012 at 17th Avenue, Diamond New Housing Scheme. At the time of the incident, reports were the two young men argued over the attention which DaSilva’s girlfriend had paid to Khan.
