Miner jailed for 10 years for setting friend on fire

A Georgetown man who set his friend on fire during a heated morning confrontation at a mining camp was sentenced to 10 years in prison this week, bringing closure to a case that left one man dead and a young woman badly burned.

Christian Joseph, better known as ‘Son Son’, was before Justice Navindra Singh at the Essequibo High Court, where he admitted to unlawfully killing 22-year-old Sheldon Harry, called ‘Black Boy’, and also to grievously injuring Harry’s girlfriend, Greisi Andrade.
The judge gave him 10 years for killing Harry and another two years for hurting Andrade. However, since the sentences will run at the same time, Joseph will only serve 10 years. Time already spent in custody will be taken off his sentence.
Joseph, 23, had originally been charged with murder but ended up pleading guilty to manslaughter, a lesser offence. He also accepted responsibility for the injuries to Andrade, who was caught up in the terrifying ordeal.
The incident happened on June 5, 2022, in the interior at a mining site where Joseph and Harry worked on different gold dredges. The court heard that things went downhill after Joseph and his girlfriend, Miriangil, got into a loud argument early that morning. The shouting was so intense that Miriangil started to pack her things and reached out to Andrade for help.

She and Andrade ended up at Harry’s camp, but the situation escalated when Joseph showed up with a cutlass and started threatening Harry. After failing to convince Miriangil to go back with him, he stormed off, only to return minutes later armed with a bucket of gasoline and a piece of wood.
Realising something was wrong, Harry and Andrade tried to run, but Joseph chased them down, soaked them in gasoline, and set them both on fire.
In an effort to save her partner, Andrade managed to drag Harry to a nearby river to try and put out the flames. Others rushed over to help, and Harry was rushed first to the Bartica Regional Hospital, then later to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), however, he died shortly after.
The post-mortem confirmed that he had suffered bronchopneumonia caused by septic burns that covered more than half of his body, between 50 and 55 per cent. Parts of the attack were also caught on Andrade’s cellphone, which helped build the case against Joseph.
When he was picked up by police, Joseph claimed he did not mean to hurt anyone. “It was not my intention, I was just bluffing and the fire light,” he reportedly told investigators, adding that Harry had bumped into him and caused the gas to spill.
However, the court did not believe his story with Justice Singh saying that the act was deliberate, not accidental, and sentenced Joseph accordingly.
Joseph was represented by Attorney Bernard Da Silva. Prosecutor Caressa Henry appeared on behalf of the State.