Relatives dissatisfied with eight year jail sentence handed down to Mazaruni Shopkeeper killer

Dec 11, 2022 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – The relatives of Bibi Shaneza Bhola, a mother of two who was brutally murdered in 2014, are not satisfied with the eight-year-jail sentence handed down to her convicted killer, 24-year-old Nathan Anthony Stoute.

Stoute was sentenced last Wednesday by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow when he appeared at the Suddie High Court.

Kaieteur News had reported on Friday that a family member had expressed satisfaction that justice has been served but later learnt that the source of the information was not an immediate relative.

Bhola’s close relatives have since condemned the statement to be that of a “John Doe” and have signaled their intentions to appeal the sentencing labeling it as unfair.

Murdered: Bibi Shaneza Bhola

Bibi Sawh, one of Bhola’s relatives who spoke with Kaieteur News on Friday said the impact statement appeared incomplete.

“Those children have become school drop-outs and they have become very aggressive,” the angry woman told Kaieteur News in reference to Bhola’s two children.

Kaieteur News understands that Juvenile Act was applied during the sentencing because Stoute was underage when he committed the murder. Measures were also put in place to rehabilitate him into society.

Jailed eight years for murder, Nathan Anthony Stoute

However, Bhola’s relatives believe that the number of years he was granted is too lenient. Kaieteur News has since been advised by a Lawyer that if the victim’s relatives want to appeal the sentencing they cannot do so privately.

The Lawyer advised that if the family is dissatisfied then they must write the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali Hack, SC. requesting a review of the sentencing. This must be done within 14 days after the sentence was made.

According to reports, Bhola was murdered during the course of a robbery at her shop located at Rock Creek, Mazaruni River, Region Seven between February 26 and 27, 2014.

Stoute was employed at Bhola’s shop when he and another co-worker robbed and killed the mother of two at her Mazaruni shop. She was found dead in her bedroom with three stab wounds to the stomach.

Bhola also had a gaping wound to the right side head along with other injuries. A substantial amount of jewellery and cash were also missing from her shop.

Stoute, 16, at the time and his co-worker were reportedly hiding in Suriname. He was nabbed and charged five years later when he returned to Guyana to attend a family function.

Reports are that on November 9, 2022 during an appearance at the Suddie High Court, Stoute admitted that he murdered the 34-year-old woman.