Farmer charged with brutal murder of 7-year-old during home invasion

Hours after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advised that Shaeed Mohammed, called “Max”, be charged for the brutal murder of seven-year-old Adriel Aftab Mohamed, he was escorted by police to the Leonora Magistrate’s Court and arraigned.

The 23-year-old farmer from Providence, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), who also has links to Zeelugt, EBE, appeared before Magistrate Alisha George at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge and was remanded to prison. The case will continue on July 20.
However, while making his way into the courthouse, the suspect hinted that he is being accused without evidence despite confessing to the crime on Sunday after he was confronted with compelling digital evidence linking him to the crime scene.
It was reported that after the confession, he provided investigators with a detailed account of how he entered the home and the events that followed.
The knife recovered at the scene was identified by the suspect as the weapon used to kill the child and attack the 72-year-old woman.
At the time of the brutal attack, the accused was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, as he was seen imbibing at a nearby shop prior to committing the crime.
During interrogation, he admitted that before entering the victims’ home, he had gone into a nearby yard but abandoned any attempts to enter the residence after realising that someone was awake.
In a haste to flee before an alarm could be raised, he left behind a pair of slippers and a music player, both of which he later identified as his property. Additionally, detectives recovered blood-stained clothing believed to have been worn by the suspect during the attack.
After committing the act, the accused reportedly went to his workplace, where it was observed that he had a visible wound on his hand, an injury that had not been present the previous day.
He later admitted that he had sustained the injury while carrying out the attack.
After collecting the evidence, the Police file was sent for legal advice and was returned with a recommendation for murder charges to be instituted.
The accused was arrested one day after the lifeless body of the child was found lying in a pool of blood with his throat slashed, while his great-grandmother was found stabbed in the neck and lying on the ground of their Phase Three, Zeelugt New Housing Scheme, EBE home.
Following the gruesome discovery, the child’s uncle, Naseeb Mohamed, said he was at home when he received a telephone call informing him that someone was inside his mother’s house.
Upon arriving at the residence, he pushed open the door and entered. After switching on the lights, he discovered his mother lying on the floor.
He said he could not explain what happened but noted that the two adults who usually stay in the home with his mother and the child had travelled to Essequibo for work.
The lad’s father, Altaf Mohamed, expressed deep regret that he was not present to protect him while explaining that his son had been left at home with his great-grandmother since he had to work.
He added that he had previously taken his son away from his mother because he did not want him raised by a stepfather. Mohamed had related that he had intended to collect his son the very day he was murdered.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the uncle of the deceased child told reporters that despite having the same surname as the family, the young man charged with the lad’s murder is not related to his family and wished that he would face the full brunt of the law.