Henry cousins murder trial – Video interviews, confrontation evidence dominate as Police witnesses testify

…court told chief investigator submitted no statements in the case

The trial into the murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry continued on Monday at the Berbice High Court with five police witnesses testifying before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and a 12-member jury.
On trial for the murders are Vinod Gopaul known as “Magga”, and Anil Sancharra, also called “Dan Pole” or “Rasta”.
Much of Monday’s proceedings focused on video and audio interviews conducted with the accused and confrontations involving Akash Singh, who was initially charged separately in connection with the murders before proceedings against him were later discontinued.

Among the witnesses called by the prosecution was Detective Sergeant Alexie Anys, who was attached to the Major Crime Unit in 2021.
Anys told the court that while at CID Headquarters, he was contacted by Sergeant James, who requested assistance in conducting video and audio interviews with the accused Vinod Gopaul.
The witness said Gopaul was questioned about his whereabouts between September 5 and 6, 2020 – the period during which the Henry cousins disappeared and were later found murdered in the Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice backlands.
According to Anys, the interview with Gopaul lasted about one and a half hours. He said he later conducted an interview with co-accused Sancharra regarding the same period.
The detective further testified that a confrontation was later held involving Akash Singh and Sancharra.

During that confrontation, Singh identified Sancharra as one of the persons he saw while in Cotton Tree Backdam who dealt one of the persons several chops.
Anys told the court that during a separate confrontation, Singh was asked to repeat the account he had previously given in the presence of the accused, after which Gopaul was asked to respond to what Singh had said.
Under cross-examination by defence attorney, Dexter Todd, Anys was questioned extensively about the investigation process.
The witness identified “Mr Caesar” as the chief investigator in the matter, but said he was unaware that no statements had been submitted by “Mr Caesar”.
He also told the court that he could not recall how many statements Akash Singh had given investigators.
Anys testified that Singh was arrested sometime after 10:00h on January 11, 2021 at a police station and said he did not see him before the arrest.
The detective further stated that Singh was not rearrested on January 12, 2021 but was instead escorted to CID Headquarters at Eve Leary.

He also said he could not recall when the Major Crime Unit removed Singh from jail where he was being held on remand after he had been charged.
When questioned about whether Sancharra maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, Anys told the court he would rely on the video interview because he did not want to mislead the court.
During cross-examination by attorney Chandra Sohan, who is representing Gopaul, the witness again maintained that he did not want to mislead the court.
Asked whether Gopaul maintained his innocence throughout the interview process, Anys again said he would rely on the video recordings.
Also taking the stand on Monday was Sergeant Sheldon Harvey, another officer attached to the Major Crime Unit.
Harvey told the court that his duty was to record confession statements.
The court was later shown part of a recorded confrontation and interview. However, playback of the approximately 90-minute recording was halted after about 15 minutes because of poor video and audio quality.
Portions of the recording were difficult to understand, with some of the witness’s words inaudible.
Sancharra and Gopaul are jointly charged with the murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry, whose bodies were discovered in the Cotton Tree backlands, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), in September 2020.
The trial continues today.