Henry cousins murder trial: “Plenty chops” – State witness gives chilling account of killing

…tells court cousins attacked after ganja crops found destroyed

The murder trial into the deaths of West Coast Berbice teenagers Isaiah and Joel Henry continued on Wednesday before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Berbice High Court, with the state’s key witness Akash Singh giving a detailed and chilling account of the alleged killings and aftermath of the September 2020 attack.
Singh, who was initially charged in connection with the murders but later became the prosecution’s main witness, testified that he was with accused Anil Sancharra, called “Dan Pole” or “Rasta”, of D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice, and Vinod Gopaul, known as “Magga”, of Yakusari, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, in the Cotton Tree backdam when the two teenagers were allegedly attacked and killed.
The two men are jointly charged with the murders of cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry.
The prosecution is being led by State Counsel Marisa Edwards, while Sancharra is represented by Attorney-at-law Dr Dexter Todd and Gopaul by Attorney-at-law Chandra Sohan.
While giving evidence on Tuesday, Singh told the court that he had gone into the backdam with the two accused men to tend to marijuana plants and plant seedlings. He said they spent the night in a makeshift camp built using branches, bushes and cut manure bags.
According to Singh, about three weeks later they returned to the area and discovered that the marijuana plants and nearby crops appeared to have been destroyed by pesticides.
He testified that while discussing the damage, two teenagers approached the camp, and one of the boys allegedly laughed when the men spoke about the destruction.
Singh said Gopaul then questioned whether the teenagers knew anything about the damaged crops.
“The taller one run and Magga chop he, and Rasta chop the next one,” Singh told the court, adding that “it was plenty chops.”
He said he could not count the number of blows inflicted on the teenagers.
The witness further testified that after the attack, the bodies of the teenagers were tied onto horses and removed from the area. Singh also claimed that Gopaul instructed him to mark an “X” on the foreheads of the two cousins before the bodies were taken away.
According to Singh, his role afterwards was to dispose of the cutlasses allegedly used in the attack. He said he threw the weapons and bloody clothing into a canal before changing into other clothes he had carried with him.
Singh told the court that both accused men threatened to kill him if he ever reported what had happened.
However, he said that after his arrest in January 2021, he disclosed the entire story to Police and later led investigators into the Cotton Tree backdam, where the killings allegedly occurred.
He also testified that after leaving the backdam following the killings, he informed his sister and two other persons about what had happened, but they did not believe him.

No promises in exchange testimony
During cross-examination by attorney Dexter Todd, Singh denied suggestions that Police had removed him from prison and placed him in a house. He maintained that he had been incarcerated for the past six years, although he could not recall the name of the prison where he was housed.
He also rejected repeated suggestions from the defence that he fabricated his account or that Police investigators had beaten him into making statements.
Instead, Singh claimed on Wednesday that while in prison, the accused men instructed him to falsely tell investigators that Police had assaulted him.
“I come out from prison to talk the truth,” Singh told the jury during intense cross-examination that lasted for more than two hours.
Attorney-at-law Chandra Sohan also questioned Singh about his appearance while allegedly being incarcerated, suggesting that his long hair indicated that he had not been imprisoned but was instead hiding elsewhere. Singh rejected the suggestion, saying prisoners were allowed to keep long hair.
He further maintained that no charges against him had been dropped and denied receiving promises from investigators in exchange for his testimony.
Singh also testified that he later showed Police where the cutlasses had allegedly been discarded, but investigators were unable to recover them.

Multiple chop wounds
Meanwhile, Government pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh also gave evidence before the court, detailing the extensive injuries sustained by both teenagers.
The pathologist testified that Isaiah Henry sustained multiple chop wounds to the head, neck and face, including injuries that severed the spine. He described several incised wounds to the forehead, head, nasal area, cheekbones and neck.
Dr Singh said Joel Henry also suffered numerous chop wounds to the hands, neck and head, including injuries to the fingers and palms which were consistent with defensive wounds.
According to the pathologist, Joel Henry sustained wounds to the back of the neck which severed the spine, along with multiple injuries to the head and neck.
The doctor gave the cause of death for both teenagers as haemorrhage and shock due to multiple incised wounds caused by a sharp weapon.

Blood-stained leaves, hair & cigarette butt
The court also heard evidence from Police Sergeant Demond John, who testified that investigators found blood stains on leaves, strands of hair and a cigarette butt in the backlands where the bodies were discovered.
John said investigators travelled some distance into the Cotton Tree backdam, where they observed crops including bananas, coconuts, watermelons and rice near the area under investigation.
However, under cross-examination by Todd, the officer admitted that no measurements were taken to establish the exact location where the bodies had been found and that there were no markings at the scene indicating where the bodies were positioned when investigators arrived.
The prosecution later called Sergeant Rodwell Sarrabo, who told the court that he led a Police team into the backdam in January 2021 as part of the investigation.
Sarrabo said investigators walked for several hours during the operation. He also testified that Assistant Superintendent Caesar was in charge of the Major Crimes Unit at the time, and therefore it was not necessary for him to provide statements in the investigation.
The Sergeant further stated that Akash Singh became a suspect based on what investigators considered credible information.
He also told the court that Police contacted Singh’s sister and two other persons after receiving information that Singh had spoken with them about the killings.
Under cross-examination, Sarrabo said he played a supervisory role in the investigation.
He is expected to return to court today as cross-examination continues.