Bartica Massacre trial
Relatives of the three victims of the brutal 2008 Bartica Massacre testified before Justice Roxanne George and a 12-member jury at the Demerara High Court on Thursday.
Education official Ingrid Ferreira-Trotman testified that on February 20 of that year, she identified the body of her uncle, Ignatius “Pakoo” Ferreira at the Georgetown mortuary, where she also witnessed a post-mortem examination performed on his body by pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh. 
She told the court that her murdered uncle’s funeral service was held three days later at the Sandy’s Funeral Home, then the body was transported and buried at Sorrow Hill, Bartica. Ferreira-Trotman further noted that her late uncle was working as a security guard at the time of his demise.
Then, Fizal Ally, who glanced at the three accused on trial several times, recalled that two days after the brutal attack, he too identified the body of his nephew Abdool Yasseen, called CB or Hasseem, who had become the boat captain for a vessel that belonged to his late father. It was explained that the young man was a past University of Guyana student.
The father of Police Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir, who had been attached to the Bartica Police Station, also testified that he identified and witnessed the post-mortem on his son.
The three men on trial – Mark Williams, Dennis “Anaconda” Williams and Roger Simon, along with Celbert Reece and Michael Caesar, who both pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter last week, were all accused of executing an attack where 12 persons, including three Policemen, were killed at Bartica on February 17, 2008.
It is believed that the five were part of the Rondell “Fineman” Rawlins gang, which attacked the town and shot dead the individuals. The Bartica attack came weeks after another massacre at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara where 11 persons were also brutally killed.
The other law enforcement ranks killed in the Bartica massacre were Police Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne, while the other civilians killed were Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian, Deonarine Singh, Ronald Gomes, Ashraf Khan, Errol Thomas, and Baldeo Singh.
It is expected that family members of the remaining victims will take the stand some time next week. The matter continues before Justice George on Monday.
