Akash Singh, called “Monkey,” who was charged with murdering teenage cousins Joel and Isaiah Henry, has pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter in relation to both deaths.
Singh, 26, appeared before Justice Gino Persaud and pleaded not guilty to the two murder charges but guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter on each charge.
He is scheduled to return to court on November 25 for sentencing.
State Counsel II Marisa Edwards appeared for the prosecution, while attorney-at-law Horatio Edmondson represented Singh.
Joel Henry, 18, and Isaiah Henry, 16, were killed in September 2020.
According to the facts presented by the prosecution and agreed to by the defence, the cousins left their Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice home on September 5, 2020, to pick coconuts in the backdam.
When they failed to return, relatives became concerned and a search was launched.
Their bodies were subsequently found in the backdam with multiple injuries.
The agreed facts placed before the court detailed Singh’s involvement in the events surrounding the killings.
According to those facts, Singh was in the backdam with two other men when the teenagers were encountered.
The court heard that one of the men accused the teenagers of stealing cannabis and damaging a cannabis farm, after which the cousins were attacked with cutlasses.
The agreed facts state that Singh was threatened by the other men before he participated in the attack, using a cutlass against one of the victims.
Singh also assisted in tying the bodies onto horses before they were taken to another location, according to the facts presented to the court.
The prosecution further stated that Singh later returned to the area and, acting on instructions, burnt the camp and disposed of cutlasses and clothing.
During the investigation, Singh gave an audio-video-recorded interview under caution detailing his involvement, according to the agreed facts.
He also accompanied investigators into the backdam and pointed out locations connected to the crime while giving his account of what had occurred.
Singh was subsequently charged in connection with the deaths of the two teenagers.
His guilty pleas to the two lesser counts of manslaughter now move the proceedings to the sentencing stage.
Justice Persaud ordered the preparation of material to assist the court in determining sentence, including victim-impact and aggravating-impact statements and submissions in mitigation from the prosecution and defence.
The court also ordered probation, prison and psychiatric reports.
Those materials are to be submitted by November 9 ahead of Singh’s return to court on November 25 for sentencing.
Source: INews Guyana
