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Judge to sum up evidence today
2008 murder of soldier…
Kaieteur News – Today, Justice Sandil Kissoon in the Demerara High Court is expected to sum up the evidence in the trial into the 2008 murder of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Corporal Ivor Williams.
Mark Royden Williams
On trial for murder is Mark Royden Williams called “Smallie”, who is on death row for killing 12 persons during the 2008 massacre in Bartica, Region Seven.
On Monday, the 12-member jury, which was empanelled for the trial into the 2008 murder of the soldier, heard the closing arguments from the prosecution and the defence.
The State is being represented by Latifah Elliott and Muntaz Ali, while Williams is being represented by attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes. While Justice Kissoon is expected to sum up the evidence today – the jury will return on Monday.
At a previous hearing, the accused led his defence in which he denied fatally shooting the soldier and even told the court that insisted that the police had charged the wrong man.
Williams is accused of fatally shooting the corporal on the night of January 23, 2008, during an armed confrontation between members of the GDF and gunmen at Buxton, East Coast Demerara.
On Monday, Hughes first addressed the court to give his closing arguments. He pointed out several aspects of the evidence that he asked the jury to consider when making their deliberation. Prosecutor Elliott then took the floor as she gave her arguments as to why Williams should be held liable in relation to the murder of the soldier.
Notably, in April 2021, a jury found Williams not guilty of a double murder, which occurred in December 2007 at Triumph, ECD. Michael Caesar, called “Capone”, was in fact sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter for the said double murder.
In February 2019, Williams and Sherwin Nero, also known as ‘Catty’, were found not guilty of the August 30, 2007 murder of businessman, Kumar Singh called “Mango Man”.
In May 2018, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) restored the 2013 acquittals of Williams and James Anthony Hyles for their alleged involvement in what has been dubbed the ‘Lusignan Massacre’, despite substantial procedural errors at trial.
In 2017, a jury found Williams and Dennis “Anaconda” Williams guilty for the 2008 Bartica Massacre, which left 12 persons, including three policemen dead. The men were sentenced to death for that crime. However, they filed an appeal against the conviction and sentence – the case is yet to come up for hearing at the Guyana Court of Appeal.
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