Jury hears details of arrests, confrontations as Henry boys’ murder trial continues

– Police witnesses testified accused initially arrested for another matter

The second day of testimony in the trial into the murders of teenage cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry focused heavily on the Police investigation, with the court hearing details about the arrests of the accused, confrontations conducted at Police headquarters in Georgetown, and allegations raised during cross-examination about how investigators obtained information in the case.

The day’s proceedings at the Berbice High Court before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall began with testimony from Isaiah’s father, Gladstone Henry, who recalled joining the search party that went into the backlands where the bodies of the two teenagers were discovered in September 2020.

Henry told the court that after the bodies were found, he remained at the scene until Police officers arrived later that afternoon. The prosecution, led by State Counsel Marisa Edwards, then called Rural Constable Devindra Paradat, who testified that he was among the officers who arrested the accused Vinod Gopaul and Akash Singh at Yakusari, Black Bush Polder, on September 6, 2020.
According to Paradat, the men were not arrested in connection with the murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry at the time. Singh was among three men who were initially charged with the murders following the deaths of the teenagers.
However, proceedings against him were later discontinued, leaving Gopaul and co-accused Anil Sancharra to stand trial.

The court also heard evidence from Police Inspector Shane James, who is attached to the Major Crimes Unit. James testified that he arrested Sancharra on January 9, 2021, on the Essequibo Coast. According to the officer, Sancharra was in the company of a female at the time and was informed of the allegation of murder upon his arrest.
The inspector further testified that on January 11, 2021, confrontations were conducted at Police headquarters in Georgetown, one involving Akash Singh and Sancharra and another involving Singh and Gopaul.
According to James, information was provided to investigators during those confrontations, which he said were videorecorded.
Under cross-examination by defence attorney Dexter Todd, James denied suggestions that Sancharra had been beaten by several Police officers in an effort to force him to give a confession statement. When asked whether Sancharra maintained that he was never involved in the killings, the officer said he would rely on the video evidence recorded during the confrontation.
Attorney-at-law Chandra Sohan, who represents Gopaul, questioned the officer about whether Akash Singh had been present when Gopaul was interviewed. In response, James reiterated that he would rely on the video recordings from the investigative process.
The prosecution also called Rural Constable David Samnarine, who tendered photographs taken during the post-mortem examinations conducted on the two teenagers. Some of those photographs were shown to the 12-member jury.
Sancharra, also called “Dan Pole” or “Rasta”, and Gopaul, known as “Magga”, 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 will continue on Monday.