Man sentenced almost 21 years for killing Venezuelan cook

A High Court Judge has sentenced 32-year-old Joshua Connell, also known as “Black Boy”, to 20 years and 10 months’ imprisonment for the killing of a Venezuelan cook at a mining camp in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), underscoring the judiciary’s firm stance against violent crimes committed in remote hinterland communities.
The sentence was delivered by Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif at the Essequibo High Court – a regional court in Guyana’s Essequibo region – following the conviction of Connell for manslaughter in the death of 28-year-old Dimas Emilia Lezama Fermin, a Venezuelan national employed as a cook at the Big Hope Backdam mining camp, located near Bartica, a town in Guyana. Justice Chandra-Hanif ordered that the time Connell has already spent in custody be deducted from the sentence and directed prison authorities to ensure that he completes an alcohol rehabilitation programme before the end of his incarceration. Importantly, the Judge ruled that the sentence must run consecutively to a separate 35-year prison term Connell is already serving for another killing.
The killing at Big Hope Backdam
The court heard that Fermin was last seen alive on the evening of Saturday, October 3, 2020, at the mining camp where she lived and worked alongside several miners and camp workers, including Connell. Her body was discovered the following morning, Sunday, October 4, 2020, floating face-down in a pond behind her living quarters. At the time of discovery, Fermin was partially unclothed, wearing a blue jersey and naked from the waist down. Police ranks who responded to the scene observed visible bruises and bluish discolouration on her neck, vagina and buttocks. Witnesses confirmed that Fermin had been at the camp the night before and later identified her body when it was recovered from the pond.
During a caution interview conducted on October 4, 2020, by Police Constable Jamal James in the presence of Corporal Kevin Morgan, Connell admitted to having sex with Fermin and choking her after she resisted. According to his statement, Connell said he had been drinking alcohol when he restrained Fermin, tore her clothing and forced her onto a bed. He admitted that when she began making noise, he strangled her until she stopped breathing. He told investigators that after realising she was dead, he placed her body near a window before carrying it to a pond behind the camp, after which he returned to drink more rum. Although Connell maintained that he did not intend to kill her, a post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Nehaul Singh concluded that Fermin died from asphyxiation due to compression injuries to the neck, compounded by multiple blunt traumas – findings consistent with strangulation. In sentencing Connell, Justice Chandra-Hanif considered a detailed probation report outlining his personal background.
Family members and community residents described him as jovial, caring and hard-working, with no prior criminal record at the time of the 2020 offence. While incarcerated, he was generally well-behaved, though he admitted to being placed in solitary confinement following a prison altercation in 2022.
“Genuine lack of remorse” – prosecutors
Connell expressed remorse during sentencing proceedings, apologising to the victim’s family and pleading for leniency. “I am very sorry for the life that was lost. What happened was not right, and I apologise to the family who lost their loved one. I am asking the court to have some mercy and give me a lighter sentence,” he said. However, prosecutors Caressa Henry and Rodley Mathoo highlighted significant aggravating factors, including the brutal strangulation of a vulnerable foreign national, the abuse of trust between co-workers and the prevalence of violence against women in mining communities. The court also heard that Connell is already serving a 35-year sentence for another killing committed in May 2022, when he murdered Rosella Smith, a 28-year-old businesswoman, following an allegation that she had stolen his raw gold. Smith’s body was found in a pit at Karrau Backdam, and an autopsy revealed she died from asphyxiation due to drowning, compounded by compression injuries to the neck. Prosecutors argued that Connell’s status as a repeat offender, coupled with his attempts to minimise responsibility and dispose of Fermin’s body, demonstrated a lack of genuine remorse. The defence, led by Attorney LN Dindayal, urged the court to consider Connell’s age, expression of remorse, cooperation with police and previously good character.
Violent crime and accountability
In delivering her ruling, Justice Chandra-Hanif stressed the seriousness of violent crime and the need for accountability, particularly in remote areas where offenders may believe they can act with impunity. The Judge set a starting sentence of 25 years, citing the nature of the offence, the concealment of the body and the aggravating circumstances. Departing from the standard one-third reduction for an early guilty plea, she granted Connell only a one-sixth reduction, amounting to four years and two months, and made no deductions for mitigating factors.
Justice Chandra-Hanif described it as “very alarming” that Connell had murdered two young women under unrelated circumstances within a short period, emphasising the need to send a clear signal that society condemns all forms of killing. In the end, the court ordered that the 20 years and 10 months imposed for the manslaughter conviction be served consecutively to Connell’s existing sentence, significantly extending the time he will remain behind bars.