Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of elderly aunt

Keith Harris, the man accused of the brutal murder of his elderly aunt, has admitted responsibility for her death. Harris pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder but accepted guilt to the lesser offence of manslaughter before Justice Nareshwar Harnanan at the High Court in Demerara.
The 52-year-old confessed to fatally stabbing his 76-year-old aunt, Audrey Statia Elizabeth Harris-Hayde, during a violent confrontation at her Princes Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown home in December 2022. His sentencing will be on May 7.
Harris had initially been committed to stand trial for murder. However, with his admission to manslaughter, the court heard that he unlawfully killed his aunt following an argument on December 2, 2022, a crime that shocked the quiet community in which she lived.

According to facts previously reported, Harris had been living in the bottom flat of his aunt’s two-storey home. The elderly woman, who had cared for him since childhood after his mother abandoned him and his siblings, was reportedly attempting to get him to move out at the time of the deadly incident.
On the morning of December 2, neighbours recalled hearing shouts, windows breaking, and frantic screams coming from the house. Concerned residents quickly summoned the Police. By the time officers arrived, Audrey Harris-Hayde was found lying in a pool of blood inside her home, bearing multiple stab wounds.
Investigations later revealed that the victim and her nephew had gotten into a heated argument earlier that morning after she insisted that he leave the residence. During the confrontation, Harris armed himself with a knife and inflicted two stab wounds to both sides of her neck. At the time, Harris-Hayde was reportedly holding a hammer, although she never managed to defend herself.
After stabbing her, Harris fled the scene, escaping in an unknown direction. Police launched a manhunt for the suspect, who went into hiding immediately after the attack.

At the scene, Harris-Hayde’s husband, Lawrence Hayde, gave an emotional account of the events leading up to the tragedy. He recalled that he had left their home around 7:30h after sharing a cup of coffee with his wife. Before leaving, he kissed her goodbye, unaware it would be the last time he would see her alive.
Hours later, while on his way to work, Hayde received a distressing call informing him that his wife had been attacked. “I told the driver to turn back the truck,” he said, recounting how he rushed back home, only to find his home cordoned off and police officers investigating the grim discovery.
“As I entered the premises, they told me what had happened. When I went upstairs, I saw my wife lying there in a pool of blood,” Hayde said, his voice breaking with emotion.
Hayde explained that his wife would have celebrated her 77th birthday later that month. He also disclosed that Harris, too, had a history of mental illness and drug abuse, and that tensions between the two had been growing in recent times.
Police, at the time, had confirmed that Harris had been engaged in frequent verbal altercations with his aunt, often under the influence of drugs.
Following his guilty plea to manslaughter, Harris was remanded to prison pending sentencing.