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Murder charge against former GDF Captain… Three witnesses testifies in PI
The Preliminary inquiry (PI) into the murder of Reona Payne, a travel agent, who was shot 14 times about her body, allegedly by former Guyana Defence Force Captain Orwain Sandy, continued yesterday.
Sandy, who was also the Special Assistant to the Chief-of-Staff, is currently on trial before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Former GDF Captain Orwain Sandy
Yesterday when the matter was called, three witnesses went into the witness box and gave brief testimonies.
The first witness called to the stand by Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves was Police Constable Kevin Noel, a Crime Scene Examiner attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary. He tendered 62 coloured photographs.
The second witness called was Sergeant Shamkin Miller, who testified to visiting the scene of the crime, and the sister of the deceased, Jonnel Henry, who testified to identifying the woman’s body at the mortuary.
The murder accused, who is being represented by Attorney-at-Law James Bond, has not been required to plead to the indictable charge. The PI into the murder will continue on June 6. Government Psychiatrist, Dr. Bhiro Harry, after evaluating Sandy on several occasions, deemed him fit to stand trial for the capital offence.
According to reports, the incident occurred between 10:15 hours and 10:45 hours in the vicinity of a Masjid at Alexander Village, Georgetown.
Sources say that Sandy and Payne were in (Payne’s) Car when the two got into an argument during which Sandy whipped out his firearm and shot the woman several times, killing her on the spot.
Sandy then drove himself to the Ruimveldt Police Station where he reported the matter to the police and was taken into custody.
Payne was a mother of three; she worked as a Travel Agent at the Muneshwers Travel Service for a number of years. Payne and Sandy were not married, but were living together for about three years.
The Guyana Defence Force, in a release, said that Sandy was immediately interdicted from duty. The GDF said that it was saddened by the incident, but noted that Sandy’s action was not reflective of the values and standards of the GDF.
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