Jury empanelled for Experiment murder trial

– 3 accused to know their fate soon

The long-awaited Experiment, Bath, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) murder trial began this week at the Berbice High Court, where a 12-member jury has been empanelled to hear evidence in the case involving the brutal killing of 47-year-old taxi driver Mohamed Haniff of Experiment, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice.
The three accused, Royston Dowden, called “Sakie” and “Killa”, Devon McAlmont, and Ivan Lindu, are charged with the capital offence of murder. They are accused of fatally attacking Haniff during what Police described as a home invasion and robbery in 2020.

On Monday, the jury was sworn in before the trial, Justice Sandel Kissoon at the Berbice Assizes, marking the start of proceedings that will determine the fate of the three men.
State Prosecutor and Attorney-at-Law Cicela Corbin is presenting the state’s case, which includes testimony from 22 witnesses, among them 13 Police officers.
Corbin is expected to outline the state’s case and present the facts to the jury when the trial resumes on Thursday. The accused are being represented separately: Attorney at Law Kevin Morgan for Dowden, Attorney at Law Chandra Sohan for McAlmont, and Attorney at Law Horatio Edmonson for Lindu.
It had been reported that the murder of Haniff occurred on Friday, September 11, 2020, at his Experiment, Bath, home.
Police had stated that Haniff, a taxi driver who had recently returned to Guyana from St Martin, was attacked late that night by a group of masked men armed with knives, cutlasses, and a metal bar.
A Police release back then stated that the men demanded money, and when Haniff refused, they brutally beat him with the metal bar and chopped him on the head, leaving him dead at the scene. The Police had also reported that his wife, who was reportedly present during the ordeal, sat silently and watched as the attackers assaulted her husband.
Subsequently, four men were arrested and appeared before Magistrate Robindranauth Singh at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court, charged jointly with murder and remanded to prison.
The fourth person, Sarju Matadin, was a 56-year-old cash crop farmer at the time.
Matadin was subsequently released after the Magistrate found insufficient evidence to proceed against him. The remaining three were committed to stand trial in the High Court.
Police had also claimed that one of the accused later reportedly confessed to the crime, providing investigators with a detailed account of how the group planned to rob Haniff and what transpired when the victim resisted.
The trial, now before the Berbice High Court, is expected to continue today when the prosecution is expected to begin presenting its evidence and witness testimonies. The jury will hear from Police investigators, eyewitnesses, and other individuals connected to the case before delivering their verdict on the accused men’s guilt or innocence.
If convicted, the trio faces the death penalty or life imprisonment.