A 35-year-old farmer of Shulinab Village, Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo) was on Thursday sentenced to 14 years behind bars for killing his wife in 2017.
Peter Juan
Peter Juan pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter when he appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Georgetown High Court. The farmer admitted that on February 18, 2017, at Central Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu – Upper Essequibo) he unlawfully killed his 47-year-old wife, Justil Bernard. Following the incident in 2017, Juan had initially told Police that he and his wife were consuming alcoholic beverages at their home when she left to go to the washroom but slipped and fell, which resulted in her death.
However, a Post-Mortem Examination which was conducted revealed that Bernard died of a fractured skull and blunt force trauma to her head.
The man was represented by Attorney-at-Law Maxwell McKay while the State was represented by Prosecutor Nafeeza Baig.
Before sentencing, Justice Kissoon considered the aggravating and mitigating factors, which included that Juan rendered assistance to his wife.
Among the aggravating factors the Judge considered, were that alcohol was involved and that the killing stemmed from domestic violence.
As such, the 14-year sentence was handed down and the prison authorities were ordered to deduct the number of years Juan spent on remand.
