Thirty-five-year-old Vindra Siriram, who was last month found guilty of killing his wife, Shelly Ann Persaud, four years ago, will spend the next 22 years in prison for submerging her head in a five-gallon bucket of water.
Shelly-Ann Persaud was killed at the hands of her partner in June 2014
Justice James Bovell-Drakes, who handed down the sentence at the High Court on Monday, encouraged the convicted husband to re-evaluate his conduct to be a better member of society.
The woman’s lifeless body was found at the couple’s Friendship, East Bank Demerara home on June 10, 2014. The couple shared three children who were present when Persaud and Siriram argued while he was in a drunken state.
His lawyer, Damian Da Silva, in a plea of mitigation had earlier appealed for leniency and stressed that the killing was a one-off unfortunate incident. State Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial responded that there were too many similar incidents involving intimate partners. She added that alcoholism and domestic violence had no place in Guyana’s society.
In the probation report which was presented in court, it was observed that Siriram dropped out of school as a teenager and he learnt a trade at 15. It was also reported that he suffered from meningitis when he was very young and was given herbal treatment by his grandmother.
Under examination by Bishundial, it was found that the probation report did not include how the death affected the young children in addition to several other concerns the State’s Attorney raised. As such, she declared that the report was not balanced. It was principally based on the evidence of neighbours which seemed to favour Siriram. Bishundial had petitioned the court to consider the gruesome nature of the offence and that the offender had not shown remorse.
Convicted killer Vindra Siriram
Persaud’s sister, Sherry-Ann, who witnessed the accused slapping her sister in front of others, testified before the court. Other witnesses, including the couple’s young daughter, testified that Siriram and Persaud would often fight.
The pathologist testified that there were marks of violence about the body and signs of compression as if someone forced the woman down. The post-mortem examination revealed that she died as a result of drowning and manual strangulation.
However, the convicted man previously told the court that he loved his wife and also wanted to know who killed her, claiming that he was beaten by the Police. In addition, he stated that a garbage bag was placed over his head and he was forced to sign a caution statement.
Siriram claimed that in fact, on the morning of June 10, 2014 he woke up and found his wife in that position and immediately called out to a neighbour. He maintained this story after he was sentenced.
Siriram was initially indicted for murder, but a jury (10-2) found him guilty of manslaughter early last month. Persaud, who had known Siriram since she was a teenager, was said to have dropped out of school during the relationship.
