Man found guilty of raping, killing 13-year-old boy

An East Bank Berbice man was on Wednesday found guilty of abducting, raping and murdering a 13-year-old boy in September 2017.
Hillary Edwards, 31, of Kortberaadt, East Bank Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) was found guilty of murder by a mixed jury at the Berbice Assizes.
The trial was conducted by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall. The case was prosecuted by State Attorney Tuana Hardy.

During the trial, Hardy called 16 witnesses to prove her case that between September 17, and September 24, 2017, Edwards sodomised 13-year-old Leonard Archibald of Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice, and in the process killed him.
The court heard of the gruesome act after Edwards, who left the teen unconscious, stuffed his clothing into his mouth and tied his hands behind his back.
During the trial, Edwards maintained his innocence, claiming that he last saw Archibald at the birthday party.

However, one of the prosecution’s main witnesses, Detective Constable Beharry Jaigopaul, told the jury that Edwards gave a confession statement during which he admitted to luring the child to his home, committing the act, and later throwing him into the Berbice River with his hands and feet bound. The witness said the man confessed to disposing of the child’s bicycle by throwing it also into the river.
Jaigopaul told the court that it was Edwards who took investigators to the spot where the bicycle was thrown, and they were able to retrieve it.
The guilty verdict was unanimous. Justice Morris-Ramlall has set February 11 for sentencing. (G4)