“Long Hair” gets life sentence, eligible for parole after serving 25 years
Corentyne shallow grave murder
Munilall Sarjoo, 51, also called “Long Hair”, a livestock farmer of Number 67 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, was on Thursday slapped with a life sentence for the 2016 murder of Levan Chandrapaul.
The convicted murderer was earlier in the month found guilty by a jury for the murder of Chandrapaul, whose body was found in a shallow grave in No 68 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, in August 2016.
However, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall imposed the sentence at the Berbice Assizes.
Convicted murderer: Munilall Sarjoo, 51, also called “Long Hair”
Following the sentencing, Sarjoo maintained his innocence.
At the commencement of the trial, State prosecutor Tuanna Hardy had told the jury that Chandrapaul was last seen with Sarjoo.
During the trial, the court heard that Chandrapaul was murdered between August 22 and 26, 2016, and his body was found in a dried-up pond covered with sand.
Government Pathologist Dr Vivakand Bridgemohan had given the cause of death as a fractured skull and internal bleeding of the skull.
During the trial, the pathologist told the court that the post-mortem revealed that there were two fractures to the skull with one being fragmented. Those injuries, he noted, were consistent with someone being hit with a blunt instrument, thus suggesting that a piece of wood could have been used.
Murdered: Levan Chandrapaul also called “Mala”
Several witnesses testified via the Zoom trial and were cross-examined by defence counsel Rodwell Jugmohan. Among those who testified were the parents of the deceased, ranks of Police’s Major Crime Unit and an eyewitness who saw the deceased entering Sarjoo’s motor car on August 22, 2016.
The prosecutor’s key witness, a fisherman of Number 67 Village, told the jury that on August 22, 2016, he had a conversation with Chandrapaul in front of his yard where Chandrapaul told him to keep his bicycle and use it before leaving.
A few days later, Chandrapaul’s body was found in a shallow grave in the backlands of Number 68 Village. At the time of the discovery, he was clad in the same clothes he was last seen wearing when he entered the convicted murderer’s car.
