Duo sentenced to 15 years each for killing taxi driver

Jun 07, 2017 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Two accused persons have been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for killing taxi driver Dhanraj Latchman. Latchman was murdered during the furtherance of a robbery. The incident occurred at Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo.
Abdul Razac and Aswraf Ally, who were 17 years old at the time, had been charged for the murder. It was reported that the teens hired the Toyota Carina AT 212 which Latchman was driving to take them to Parika.
The car was found in the Parika backlands, two days after the driver was reportedly hired by the two accused.
The following day, investigators found Latchman’s lifeless body in a garbage heap near the cane fields at the backlands. Reports are that the teens used one of the seat belts from the victim’s car to strangle him before dumping his body.
When they appeared before Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court yesterday the accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Through their Attorney, Keoma Griffith, the men beseeched the court for mercy. Both accused became emotional accepting responsibility for their actions.
State Prosecutor, Tuanna Hardy nonetheless asked the court to consider the life which lost during the commission of the crime.
The Prosecutor noted that the victim was missing for three days, before his body was discovered in the heap.
Latchman of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, was found dead in a shallow grave near Parika Backdam last Friday.
He had been reported missing to the police two days earlier by his parents after he had left to transport two passengers to Parika, and did not return home.
His car was subsequently discovered the day after at Parika. A post mortem examination which was performed on Latchman’s body gave the cause of death as asphyxiation due to compound injury to the neck.
After taking all the facts into the consideration, the Judge sentenced both accused to 15 years each in prison for killing the taxi driver.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News