Man freed of charge for Campbellville double murder

Mar 09, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – The High Court has acquitted the man charged with the gruesome murder of a Pandit and his son in Campbellville in July of 2018.

Orlando Douglas, of Campbellville was set free by Justice Joann Barlow at the High Court in Georgetown, after she directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty for him, based on a no-case submission which she upheld on his behalf.

Dead: Pandit Deonarine Liliah and his son Gopaul Liliah

Acquitted: Orlando Douglas

Douglas had faced a charge which read that between July 7 and July 10, 2018 at Craig Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, he murdered Deonarine Liliah, a Pandit and his 28-year old-son Gopaul Liliah during the course of a robbery.

Deonarine Liliah, a 61-year-old Pandit and businessman, and his 28-year old-son Gopaul Liliah were found dead in their Lot 25 Craig Street, Campbellville home with multiple stabs wounds about their bodies.

The father and son were discovered after a tenant who lived downstairs made a report at the Kitty Police Station. Neighbours had also complained about a stench coming from the upper flat of the home.

Police arrived at the scene and found Deonarine Liliah lying on his back in the living room. He was clad in white long pants and his face was covered with a multi-coloured top.

Police had also detained a businessman who is believed to have hired the defendant to kill Deonarine Liliah and his son to avoid repaying a US $40,000 debt.

Investigators say that after the butchering of the father and son, the killers conducted an unsuccessful search for a document that the mastermind had signed regarding the money that he owed. Their actions were reportedly recorded by hidden CCTV cameras in the house. An autopsy revealed that the victims had been stabbed 66 times.

Police reportedly recovered CCTV footage, which showed an unidentified male jumping the western fence and entering the home, through the northern front door.