Latest update April 20th, 2026 4:49 AM
Latest News
- Gas-to-Energy contractor sourcing materials, services at inflated costs from shell companies
- Guyana paid US$264.6M in debt servicing for 2025
- Iran vows retaliation after U.S. seizes ship near Strait of Hormuz
- Fire leaves family homeless after morning prayer
- Man kills drinking buddy in scuffle over $1000
Man, 72, freed of 2012 murder
Burcliffe Marcus, perhaps the oldest murder accused for quite some time, was freed by an Essequibo jury earlier this
Freed: Burcliffe Marcus
week. The 72-year-old, also known as ‘Baba’, was accused of killing 23-year-old Clive Cornelius, at Imbaimadai Landing, on February 22, 2012.
It was alleged that Marcus and Cornelius became involved in a violent encounter that was sparked by Cornelius entering Marcus’s home under the influence of alcohol. The prosecution, led by Donica Singh, argued that Marcus used a piece of wood to beat Cornelius to the head.
The post mortem concluded that the victim died of multiple blunt trauma, confirming that he was struck many times.
During the trial the main prosecution witness died. This meant that his deposition had to be read to the court. There could have been no cross examination.
Defence Counsel Beverley Bishop-Cheddie argued before Justice Franklyn Holder at the Essequibo High Court, that most of the evidence was circumstantial. She argued that there was poor police investigation. For example, the killing occurred on February 22, 2012, but it took the police three days to get ranks of the Criminal Investigations Department to the location to photograph the scene.
The police also failed to collect the evidence from the crime scene and in the end presented a poor case before Justice Holder.
In the end the jury found Marcus not guilty of both murder and manslaughter.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.