East Coast Demerara resident Ravindra “Ravin” Ramdeen has been sentenced to 21 years and four months in prison for the 2020 murder of 53-year-old Merlyn “Jean” Singh, with whom he was in a relationship.

Ramdeen, 57, was sentenced by Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif at the High Court in Demerara after pleading guilty to the murder, bringing an end to the case arising from Singh’s death at her Cummings Lodge home.

The court heard that Ramdeen, a father of four, and Singh were acquainted and had been in a relationship. The killing occurred between December 10 and 11, 2020, at Singh’s home at Lot 415, Eighth Street, South-East Cummings Lodge.

Justice Chandra-Hanif said the evidence showed that Ramdeen and Singh initially engaged in consensual sexual activity.

Afterwards, the two spoke and Ramdeen indicated that he wanted to have sex with Singh again. When she refused, the judge said Ramdeen grabbed her, causing her to strike her head.

He then placed his hands around her neck to prevent her from calling out and proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her while choking her.

Ramdeen subsequently left the house, leaving Singh unconscious and without rendering assistance.

Singh’s lifeless body was later discovered in her bedroom.

The judge said the violence caused Singh’s death, with the post-mortem establishing manual strangulation and head trauma as contributing causes.

Ramdeen was arrested and charged with murder before being brought before Magistrate Alisha George at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. As the charge was indictable, he was not required to enter a plea at that stage and was remanded to prison before eventually being committed to stand trial at the Demerara Criminal Assizes.

During the sentencing hearing, defence attorney Ronald Bostwick urged the court to consider Ramdeen’s guilty plea, personal circumstances and lack of previous convictions.

Bostwick described Ramdeen as remorseful and said there had been no animosity between him and Singh. He also highlighted Ramdeen’s difficult upbringing, noting that he began working at a young age following the separation of his parents.

Ramdeen had maintained steady employment and most recently worked as a security officer.

Bostwick further submitted that Ramdeen’s actions stemmed from selfishness arising from his desire to have sex when Singh did not want to. He asked the court to consider those circumstances when determining the sentence.

Ramdeen also addressed the court and expressed remorse.

“I want to say I’m sorry about the whole situation. I should have known better,” he told the court.

He said he had spent years in prison trying to rehabilitate himself and become a better person, and appealed for leniency because of his children.

“I love my family very much,” Ramdeen said, asking for an opportunity to return to society and be a responsible father.

Singh’s brother described her as a loving and caring person, saying it hurt him to know that Ramdeen, who was acquainted with their family, had raped and killed his sister.

State prosecutors Aleria Heywood and Nelissa Peterkin urged the court to impose a substantial sentence, emphasising the seriousness and prevalence of rape and the circumstances surrounding Singh’s death.

They maintained that the killing occurred in the course of a sexual assault and pointed to the cause of death and the violence inflicted on Singh.

The prosecutors also rejected Ramdeen’s account that Singh enjoyed being choked, insisting that the evidence established that she was murdered.

In determining the sentence, Justice Chandra-Hanif placed significant emphasis on the circumstances surrounding Singh’s death and the sexual violence that preceded it.

The judge said the case involved the violation of Singh’s bodily autonomy and her right to refuse sexual activity.

“Sexual violence accompanied by fatal violence requires emphatic denunciations,” Justice Chandra-Hanif said.

She added that the sentence must make clear that “a person’s refusal of sex is imperative” and that force, coercion and violence would not be tolerated.

The judge found that Singh’s refusal was clear, yet Ramdeen used significant force against her. She noted that the violence began after Singh refused to engage in further sexual activity and ultimately resulted in her death.

Justice Chandra-Hanif also considered the sustained nature of the strangulation and the head trauma suffered by Singh. The fact that the violence occurred inside Singh’s home, where she was entitled to feel safe, was also treated as an aggravating factor.

Another aggravating factor was Ramdeen’s conduct after the attack.

The judge noted that he did not seek assistance for Singh despite observing that she was unresponsive.

Justice Chandra-Hanif adopted 35 years as the starting point for the sentence, having regard to the seriousness of the offence and the aggravating circumstances.

She then deducted three years for mitigating factors, bringing the sentence to 32 years.

The judge subsequently applied a one-third reduction for Ramdeen’s early guilty plea, amounting to a further deduction of 10 years and eight months.

The final sentence was therefore 21 years and four months in prison.

The time Ramdeen has already spent in pre-trial custody is to be deducted by the Guyana Prison Service.