Trial into 2008 murder of soldier: Closing arguments to be presented on Monday

Come Monday, State Prosecutors Latifah Elliott and Muntaz Ali will present closing arguments to the jury as to why Mark Royden Williams – the man charged with the 2008 murder of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Corporal Ivor Williams – should be held criminally liable for his actions.

Before Demerara High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon, the Prosecutors and Williams’s lawyer, Nigel Hughes, will present their closing arguments as the trial, which commenced two weeks ago, comes to a close. The defence is expected to discuss the presumption of innocence and the prosecution’s burden of proving that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The murder accused, called “Smallie”, who is currently on death row for killing 12 persons during the 2008 Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) Massacre, while leading his defence, adamantly denied fatally shooting the soldier, claiming that “they [investigators] got the wrong man”. The defence closed its case on Wednesday.

Corporal Williams was shot dead on January 23, 2008 by gunmen while he and other soldiers were carrying out a military operation at Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Meanwhile, in 2017, Mark Williams and Dennis “Anaconda” Williams were sentenced to death by hanging for their involvement in the 2008 Bartica Massacre, which left 12 persons, including three Policemen, dead. They were found guilty of the killings by a jury.
The two men have since filed an appeal against their conviction and sentence. That case is yet to be called at the Court of Appeal of Guyana.
On February 17, 2008, gunmen carried out a brazen attack on the community of Bartica while members of the mining community were watching a game of 20/20 cricket on television.
On that fateful night, Police Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir and Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne were fatally shot. Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian, Irving Ferreira, Deonarine Singh, Ronald Gomes, Ashraf Khan, Abdool Yasseen, Errol Thomas, and Baldeo Singh were the civilians killed.
Then, in 2021, Mark Williams was found not guilty by a jury of the December 16, 2007 murders of 35-year-old Rajesh Singh and 25-year-old Fazal Hakim, which occurred at Triumph, ECD. Another man, Michael Caesar, called “Capone”, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter over the deaths of Singh and Hakim.
In February 2019, Mark Williams and Sherwin Nero, called “Catty” or “Pussy”, were both found not guilty of the murder of businessman Kumar Singh, which occurred on August 30, 2007.
Singh, 51, also known as “Mango Man”, of Cove and John, ECD, was shot and killed by bandits.
In May 2013, Mark Williams and another man, James Hyles, called “Sally”, were found not guilty of murdering 11 persons, including children, in the January 2008 Lusignan, ECD Massacre.
Following the men’s discharge, the State appealed their acquittals to the Court of Appeal, arguing, among other things, that several material irregularities had rendered the not-guilty verdicts unsafe and unsatisfactory.
The appellate court unanimously allowed the State’s appeal, thereby remitting the matter to the High Court for a new trial. But Mark Williams and Hyles appealed that ruling to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which, in May 2018, restored their acquittals.
In 2017, Mark Williams was among the high-profile prisoners who escaped after a fire gutted the Camp Street Prison in Georgetown. He was, however, apprehended weeks later by Police ranks while he was on a public minibus on the Weldaad Public Road, West Coast Berbice (WCB). (G1)