The brother of slain Isaiah Henry and cousin of Joel Henry, whose mutilated bodies were found at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice (WCB), in September 2020, along with three other men were on Tuesday arraigned for the murder of 17-year-old Haresh Singh.
Those charged and remanded to prison are 29-year-old Phillip Anderson of No 3 Village, WCB, who confessed to the heinous crime following his arrest; 27-year-old Joel Gittens also called “Bolo” of Jangotown, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD); Gladston Henry also called Gladwin Henry, known as “Soldier man”, 27, of No 3 Village, WCB and Charles “Bucko” Scott, 21, of Jarvis Street, Rosignol, West Bank Berbice (WBB).
Murdered: Haresh Singh
The men appeared virtually before Magistrate Peter Hugh at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court. They were not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that on September 9, 2020, they murdered Haresh Singh at Number 3 Village, WCB.
They were remanded to prison and will make their next court appearance on July 12 at the Blairmont Magistrate’s Court.
The men appeared before the Magistrate moments after the Major Crimes Unit received legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Tuesday to institute murder charges against them.
Anderson, Scott and Gittens were arrested one week ago after Police had intensified their investigations. During interrogation, Anderson reportedly gave the detectives a confession statement implicating Scott and Gittens along with Gladston Henry, the brother of slain Isaiah Henry and cousin of Joel Henry.
In his confession, Anderson reportedly told detectives that a few days after the badly battered bodies of the Henry boys were found, Gladston Henry went to his home and told him that Singh’s relatives were the ones responsible for his brother’s death and that “they got to die,” as a form of revenge. He said that Gladston Henry asked that he accompany him on the road where they were joined by Gittens and Scott. As they were heading towards the road, they armed themselves with pieces of wood.
Anderson stated that they went straight to Haresh Singh’s house and accused his relatives of killing his brother and cousin. They reportedly started to verbally abuse the family and threatened to kill them.
After the confrontation, they left and went to the back of Isaiah’s home then to a dam at No 3 Village.
He said there, they crossed a bridge and went to the other side where they saw Haresh Singh approaching on his bike. As such, the four men instructed him to stop and Singh complied but refused to come off the bike when he was told to do so.
An angered Gittens reportedly grabbed Singh from behind and pulled him off the bike after which he bent him over and it was then Henry’s relative dealt him one blow to the head.
After receiving the blow, Singh was thrown to the ground where he groaned in pain, the man told Police. Still full of anger, Gittens then picked up a piece of wood and repeatedly lashed Singh to his head.
Upon seeing this, Anderson told detectives that he walked away but subsequently learnt that Singh had died and his bike was set on fire.
Anderson, admitted that from the inception, he was working in cohort with Henry’s relatives, “Bucko” and “Bolo” but after witnessing the brutal attack on Singh, he regretted being involved.
He has since apologised for being involved in the heinous crime especially after he found out that Singh’s family was innocent and had nothing to do with the Henry boys’ murder.
Singh’s body was found on September 9, 2021, three days after the badly chopped bodies of Isaiah and Joel Henry were found.
Following the discovery, there were countrywide protests calling for justice for the boys. The Police initiated their investigations and shortly after they were joined by a team of overseas experts.
They all concluded that the Henry boys were murdered at a location other than the area their mutilated bodies were found since no bloodstains or weapons were found at the scene.
The murder of Singh stemmed after several of the now dead teen’s relatives were arrested and questioned for the murder of the Henry cousins on September 6, 2020. Three days after that gruesome discovery, Haresh Singh’s battered body was found at the No 3 Backdam along with his burnt motorcycle.
He said that Gladston Henry asked that he accompany him on the road where they were joined by Gittens and Scott. As they were heading towards the road, they armed themselves with pieces of wood.
