Murder of British teen…Three of five accused granted High Court bail

Apr 13, 2016 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Three of the five persons accused of murdering British teenager Dominic Bernard have been released on bail.
Bail in the sum of $300,000 each was granted to 20-year-old Krystal Thomas,

Granted bail: (from left) Krystal Thomas, Sisanie Henry and Jahmil Sinclair

Sisanie Henry, 39, and 18-year-old Jahmil Sinclair, by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, following a successful petition by their lawyers yesterday.
The two other prime suspects, Aaron Hing and Stayman George, remain in custody.
Thomas is in a common-law relationship with Hing, while Henry is Thomas’ mother and Sinclair is a friend.
All five were charged on February 1, last, with Bernard’s murder, a week after the suspected remains of the British teen were discovered in a shallow grave in Berbice.
Attorney at law Nigel Hughes had indicated that he would put forward arguments for the case of murder against Krystal Thomas and Sisanie Henry a vendor, to be struck out or quashed by the magistrate. However this move reportedly failed and Hughes moved to the high court, where he successfully secured bail for them. The charge still remains.
The trio was ordered to report to the Whim Police Station, Corentyne, every two weeks as part of their condition of bail.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the DNA tests conducted on Bernard’s suspected remains have been completed and are to be brought back to Guyana soon.

Killed: Dominic Bernard

Prosecutors believe that Dominic Bernard was murdered shortly after he arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on October 14, 2015.
On January 8, a badly decomposed body suspected to be that of Bernard was found in a shallow grave at Nurney, Corentyne, Berbice, by CID ranks from Georgetown and Berbice. They were acting on an anonymous phone call. A ‘Post Mortem’ revealed that he had sustained a fractured skull, as well as a broken neck.
In the ensuing investigations, British law enforcement collaborated with local police and this resulted in Thomas, Henry and Sinclair being arrested and the property of the deceased recovered.
According to reports, Bernard had arrived in Guyana on October 14, last, for a three-week vacation with his God brother, Aaron Hing. He was scheduled to fly back to England on November 5, 2015, but failed to do so.
It was reported that his father, Andrew Bernard contacted his Godson (Hing) about his son’s whereabouts after the latter did not return home. However, Hing reportedly told his Godfather that he was unaware that the teen was coming to Guyana. This raised suspicions and the elder Bernard flew to Guyana to locate his eldest child.
His visit led to the intensification of the investigations which later resulted in the discovery of the teenager’s body.