Farmer accused of burning fruit thief’s body on $1M bail

…DPP advises further investigation into case

The La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) farmer, who is accused of burning and burying the body of 22-year-old Shakeel “Botha” John, who was electrocuted on his farm back in November 2023, was released on $1 million station bail.
This was confirmed by Crime Chief Wendell Blahnum, who also informed Guyana Times that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, has requested further investigations into John’s death.

The deceased man’s sister told this publication that her brother’s friend told his family members that he confessed to the incident after he was tormented by her brother’s “ghost”.
Based on reports received, on February 25, a teenager of Inner Bagotville, WBD, visited the La Grange Police Station and reported that in November 2023, he and two others, including John, colluded to go and steal citrus fruits from a farm in Cone Shop Street, La Grange.
He stated that as they approached the first farm, they were confronted by the owner, who chased them with a cutlass. They did not stop there; they instead went to a second farm and upon scaling a mesh fence, they heard John scream out “ahh”.
At that time, they realised that he was being shocked by some sort of electricity on the fence. As a result, he and his accomplice took a piece of wood and attempted to remove John from the fence, but in the process, he too, received, a shock to his foot.
Attempts to remove John proved futile and as such, they hid behind a mango tree until the next morning.
As the sun rose, the young man claimed that they saw the owner of the farm picking fruits before he stumbled upon John’s body that was lying on the ground.
“He walked out back to the front and returned with a sheet in his hands, wrapped up Shaquille and dragged him more into the farm and disappeared,” the young man allegedly told detectives.
Upon seeing this, the two young men allegedly waited a while before heading out of the farm, and his accomplice reportedly threatened to kill him if he reported the matter.
Upon receiving this information, a team of Police, along with the teenager, went to the farm where they contacted the owner, a 59-year-old man from Unity Street, La Grange.
The teen then took the ranks to the area where John was electrocuted. While there, the farmer admitted that he had demolished his old fence and erected a new fence with barbed wire. He was taken into custody.
Subsequently, the teenager was interviewed by members of the Child Care and Protection Agency at De Willem, West Coast Demerara (WCD) during which he related the exact story he told the Police.

Human bones
Later in the day, Police, acting on information received revisited the farm, where they discovered human bones suspected to be those of John in a clump of bushes.
They proceeded to the home of the farmer where they observed an electrical cable strapped to a coconut tree in the front of his yard.
Further, they observed a metal wire on the fence running in a manner that would facilitate the flow of an independent electrical current.
In addition, they stumbled upon an area that appeared to be a fire heap that contained pieces of burnt tyres. Upon closer inspection, they discovered several human bones, including a human skull.
Police stated that the skull had what appeared to be fire damage, and the bones were scattered across the more-than-40-foot fire heap.
Additionally, pieces of burnt denim jeans and a piece of male underwear were discovered.

Alleged confession
Meanwhile, during interrogation, the farmer allegedly confessed that he had placed an electricity rod on his fence to ward off thieves who would constantly invade his property.
He reportedly told investigations, “Sometime late November last year, because I come home one afternoon from wuk and see one a den hook up on the fence like he get electrocute. I tek he off and I recognise is “Botha”… I drag he pon de next land and I use some tyre fuh burn he. I tell you de truth I didn’t kill this man; he did done dead.”

Mother thought son was interior
Meanwhile, a visit to the victim’s home by Guyana Times revealed conflicting details from the victim’s mother, Sharon Jones. She claimed to have last seen her son on December 5, 2023, not in November, mentioning he left to meet friends and never returned.
“Me and Shakeel were in Belle West, because we are building a house there. He was there with me doing some work. At about 06:00h we left and came home, and his friends came and called him out of the house and that was the last time I saw him. I couldn’t call him, because he didn’t have a phone. I woke up the next morning, peeped in his room, and didn’t see him, so I called his friend that he left with – his mother and she told me that her son didn’t come home too,” she said.
The woman said she left for work and when she returned home on the night of December 6, she was told by her older son that one of John’s friends said that he had gone with another friend and a female to Linden.
The woman expressed her distress over her son’s disappearance, revealing that she had not reported it to the Police, since he often travelled to the interior for work and would usually contact her. However, when he did not return or call, she grew concerned. (G9)