Kaneville man gets 9 years for killing cousin-in-law

Thirty-two-year-old Rayan Van Lange, of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, was on Thursday sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment after he changed his plea on the commencement of his High Court trial for his cousin-in-law’s murder.

It was only on Tuesday that Van Lange held out that he was not guilty of murdering his cousin-in-law. However, before the first witness was scheduled to testify, the murder accused informed the court of the change in his plea. After being re-arraigned, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. As such, Judge Navindra Singh directed the 12-member jury to return the corresponding guilty verdict.

Van Lange was accused of stabbing to death his cousin’s husband, Jason Ramatar on May 31, 2015 at Kaneville. State Prosecutors Tuanna Hardy and Siand Dhurjon had contended that after his wife’s birthday celebration, the man who was drinking heavily stabbed Ramatar four times with a knife following an argument.

Minutes before Justice Singh gave his ruling, the accused with tears trickling down his cheeks begged the court for mercy, telling Ramatar’s relatives that words could not express how sorry he was for what happened. His attorney, Mark Conway appealed for a reduced sentence, informing the court that his client was a father of three and had no prior convictions.

“He wants to contribute to society, he is very remorseful,” the defence counsel opined.

State Prosecutor Dhurjon, however, reminded that the deceased was a bright and decent young man, whose wife was pregnant at the time of his passing. He also told the court that the altercation which led to the stabbing lasted 20 minutes before Van Lange took the knife to commit the act. Dhurjon maintained that there was “no justification” for Ramatar’s killing.

After hearing from all parties, Justice Singh indicated that the accused must be punished as a life was lost. He stressed that this “unfortunate incident” seemed to be occurring too often among friends. The Judge took into consideration the early plea, remorse shown and the fact that the victim made some contribution to the altercation before sentencing Van Lange to nine years, with deductions for time spent on remand.

Reacting to the ruling, the deceased’s sister, Lisa Edwards told Guyana Times that the sentence imposed was not sufficient for her brother’s murder, noting that Ramatar’s son still asked for his father.

“My brother has died and gone already and there’s nothing more that we can do. Nine years? It’s two children that [were] left to mourn without a father. His son is asking where is his father…There [was] nothing else to say, but his father went to the interior for some time. He has a one-year-old girl now,” Edwards noted in tears.

She added that her mother was too ill to attend court.

The State had contended that the accused and the victim were present at his wife’s birthday party, the day before the night in question. Hours later, according to reports, the accused and now deceased man argued over purchasing more alcohol. It was after this that a scuffle allegedly ensued and Van Lange armed himself with a kitchen knife and committed the act. Ramatar succumbed to his injuries, after he had been rushed to the Diamond hospital, East Bank Demerara

A post-mortem revealed that the man died from shock and haemorrhage due to four incised wounds. The knife penetrated his jugular artery and lung. He was 24 years old. (Shemuel Fanfair)