Hotelier, employee murders: 4 years’ jail for man who killed duo while a juvenile

A man who was a juvenile when he killed a Canada-based hotelier and his employee back in 2019 has been sentenced to serve four years in custody. This is in addition to a series of rehabilitative orders that have been imposed by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.
In accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act, notwithstanding that the felon is now an adult, he is afforded certain protections because he committed the crime while he was a juvenile. As such, his name, address, other particulars and photographs cannot be published.
Initially charged when he was 16, at his arraignment at the Berbice High Court earlier this month, the young man faced two counts of the capital offence of murder over the deaths of Vivekanand Narpatty, 71, and his employee Harry Prashad, which occurred between December 19 and 27, 2019. He opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
At his sentencing hearing on Thursday, the presiding Judge ordered that he serves four years in custody, and credited him for the time he has already spent in pre-trial detention.
After he completes serving the sentence, the young man will be placed on probation for three years, during which he has to report to the Chief Probation Officer monthly.
In addition to this, he has to inform the Chief Probation Officer of any changes to his address, and can leave the country only if he gets permission from the court.
The Judge told the man that after he is released from prison, he must try to find gainful employment. She also placed him on a bond to keep the peace and to be of good behaviour while on probation, and to perform community service for one hour weekly for six months.
Noncompliance with these orders would permit the State to make an application to have his sentence reviewed withthe intention of changing same.
State Counsel Muntaz Ali appeared for the prosecution, while Attorney-at-Law Suriyha Sabsook represented the young offender.
Police had stated that Narpatty owned and resided at the Sun Splash Holiday Beach Resort located at Lot 110 Number 63 Village, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
On Friday, December 27, 2019, at about 11:20h, the bodies of the two men were discovered on the second flat, in the balcony area of the hotel. This newspaper was told that relatives visited the resort after several telephone calls to the overseas-based Guyanese had gone unanswered.
According to a relative, upon arrival, persons realised a stench was coming from the building, and this prompted them to call the Police. The body of Narpatty, who had arrived in Guyana on December 16, 2019, was found with two toes from his left foot severed; and Prashad was found with both hands tied behind his back onto a post on the balcony, and his left foot was severed from the ankle. Investigators concluded that the men had been tortured before being killed.
In May 2019, Narpatty had reported that he had been robbed on several occasions, including once at knifepoint, when he came to Guyana. Previously, he had reported that he was robbed more than ten times while visiting Guyana over the past four years.
Over 18 years ago, he opened the Sun Splash Hotel and Resort, but the business never did well. He subsequently closed operations and went to Canada, but returned to Guyana frequently.
While here, he usually opened the place for business.