Elderly man who killed, buried wife in house to spend four more years in jail

Sep 16, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – After spending ten years on remand for the murder of his wife who was found buried in the sand of an unfinished bathroom at his Melanie Damishana home, 74-year-old Gordon Leslie Durant will be spending four more years behind bars for the crime.

Gordon Leslie Durant

Durant was on Thursday sentenced by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Demerara High Court. He was represented by Attorney-at-Law Dexter Smartt while the State was represented by Prosecutors, Marisa Edwards, Simran Gajraj, and Latifah Elliot.

It was between June 26, 2012 and June 28, 2012, at Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara, when 50-year-old Joan Durant lost her life. Her husband was arraigned for murder to which he denied and opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

According to reports, one of Joan’s sons had reported her missing on June 26, 2012 and two days later her husband confessed to the police and led them to where he buried his wife. Joan’s decomposed body was discovered in the unfinished house covered in sand.

Joan Durant

On Thursday during the sentencing hearing, a probation report on Gordon was read to the court. Joan’s eldest son in his victim impact statement noted that from the day he found his mother in the shallow grave he became traumatised. “I cry when I remember the condition in which I found my mother, she didn’t deserve to die that way so I am seeking justice for my mother…” the man added.

The woman’s youngest son appeared in court with his victim impact statement. He added, “When the church sisters ask me about the court case, I must be able to tell them that we get justice.”

Following a plea of mitigation by Durant’s lawyer – Justice Barlow highlighted that the unfortunate circumstance is that a life was lost through domestic violence.

She added that the only evidence in the matter was Durant’s caution statement in which he stated that he had an argument with his wife that led up to her death. In Durant’s caution statement he claimed that his wife wanted to go see her mother but he did not want her to leave the house – this then escalated into an argument which turned into a physical altercation.

The court heard that Durant claimed that his wife then ran but fell and hit her head on a concrete block. It was stated that it was fear that caused Durant to bury his wife in their home. After highlighting some notable points from the case Justice Barlow stated that she will start Durant’s sentencing at 21 years but will make a deduction of 10 years, as required by law for the time he spent on remand and then seven years for his early guilty plea – this means that Durant will only spend four more years in jail for the death of his wife.