The murder trial into the brutal deaths of teenage cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry continued on Wednesday at the Berbice High Court, with the court hearing claims from a key prosecution witness that the two accused men urged him to falsely accuse police investigators of assaulting him.
The trial is being heard before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and involves accused Anil Sancharra, known as “Dan Pole” or “Rasta”, and Vinod Gopaul, called “Magga”. The men are charged with the September 2020 murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry, whose bodies were discovered in the backlands of Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice.
State prosecutor Marisa Edwards is leading the prosecution’s case, while attorneys-at-law Dr Dexter Todd and Chandra Sohan are appearing for the defence.
The court continued hearing testimony from Akash Singh, who was initially charged during the investigation before later becoming a prosecution witness.
Singh had previously testified that he accompanied the accused into the Cotton Tree backdam, where marijuana was allegedly being cultivated, and claimed he witnessed the fatal attack on the two cousins.
He also told the court earlier in the proceedings that after the killings, the bodies were tied and placed on a horse before being removed from the area.
He further alleged that one of the accused instructed him to place an “X” mark on the foreheads of the teenagers.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Singh faced more than two hours of intense cross-examination by defence attorney Dr Dexter Todd, who challenged the credibility of his account and suggested that his statements were fabricated.
However, Singh denied those allegations and maintained that he had been truthful in his evidence. He also rejected claims that investigators had beaten him to obtain statements.
Instead, Singh alleged that while they were imprisoned together, the accused men encouraged him to falsely tell investigators that police had assaulted him during questioning.
The witness also told the court that he feared for his safety because of what he claimed to have witnessed the accused men do to others.
Under questioning from attorney Chandra Sohan, Singh was also challenged about his physical appearance while allegedly in custody, with the defence suggesting that his long hair indicated he had not been imprisoned but had been hiding.
Singh dismissed the suggestion, telling the court that prisoners were permitted to keep long hair.
“I come out from prison to talk the truth,” Singh told the court.
He further denied receiving any promises or favours from investigators in exchange for testifying and insisted that charges against him had not been withdrawn.
Singh also testified that he later took investigators to an area where cutlasses allegedly used in the killings had been discarded, but the weapons were never recovered.
The prosecution later called police Sergeant Rudwell Sarrabo to testify.
Sarrabo told the court that in January 2021 he led a team of investigators into the backdam as part of the probe, explaining that officers spent several hours trekking through the area during the operation.
The sergeant also stated that Assistant Superintendent Caesar was heading the Major Crimes Unit at the time and therefore did not need to provide statements during the investigation.
According to Sarrabo, investigators identified Akash Singh as a suspect after receiving what he described as credible information. He further testified that police later contacted Singh’s sister and two other individuals after learning that Singh had reportedly spoken to them about the killings.
During cross-examination, Sarrabo said he served in a supervisory capacity during the investigation.
The matter is expected to continue today when cross-examination resumes.
