‘IsWe’ gets 25 years for murder of Shonette Dover

Jun 19, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Shaquawn Alleyne, also known as ‘IsWe’, was on Thursday sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for the 2021 murder of his 21-year-old girlfriend, Shonnette Dover, who was shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave in the backyard of his Canvas City, Wismar, Linden, Region 10 home.

The time Alleyne spent in custody since January 2024 will be deducted from his 25 years sentence.

Alleyne was sentenced by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court after pleading guilty to the capital offence earlier this month under a plea agreement between the defence and the state.

Before the sentence was handed down, Alleyne addressed the court, calling his actions a mistake and asking Dover’s family and the nation to forgive him.

“With a heavy heart, I stand here before you and I apologise to the court. I apologise to the victim’s family for my actions,” he said.

Alleyne told the court that he still vividly remembers the times he spent with Dover and that he would like to take accountability for his actions.

“I never meant to cause any harm. I never intended to do such, it was an accident, and I was afraid. Based on the fear factors I reacted, and I’ve made a few mistakes, and I’m standing here before the court, and I am taking responsibility for my actions. I’m asking the family of Shonette to please forgive me. I’m also asking the nation to forgive me,” he stated.

Alleyne pleaded with the judge, asking for a second chance. “I understand that I’ve made a mistake. I understand that there are consequences to my actions, and I’m pleading with the court, and I’m apologising to the family of the deceased, and I’m also apologising to the court once again…I’m sincerely sorry for my actions, or the grieving that I’ve caused based on my actions,” he added.

Moreover, Alleyne also urged others to not follow his path. “This is now my reality. I’ve been incarcerated, and life is not perfect. Here, I am in a cell, in a cell that’s in another cell, and now this is my reality. Let this be a deterrent for other persons who want to have the idea and the thoughts of involving themselves in these types of activities,” he said.

Handing down the sentence, Justice Kissoon underscored the alarming prevalence of domestic violence and intimate partner killings. He outlined that Dover was killed in her home and in the presence of her younger sister.

He also pointed to the fact that Alleyne used a firearm he had no lawful authority to possess.

The judge identified several aggravating factors, including Alleyne’s failure to render assistance or seek medical attention after the shooting, his decision to bury Dover in a shallow grave, and his involvement of her younger sister in concealing the crime.

Justice Kissoon also cited Alleyne’s efforts to conceal the crime by misleading the community and the nation by manipulating the narrative surrounding Dover’s disappearance, until “his house of cards collapsed.” Another factor the judge pointed to is that Alleyne fled the jurisdiction and did not return voluntarily.

The court adopted a starting point of 35 years for Alleyne’s sentence. The next step the judge took was to consider the aggravating and mitigating factors. However, the judge found that there were no mitigating factors.

Justice Kissoon further adjusted the starting point of the sentence to 37 years and six months, when considering that while Alleyne does not have any prior conviction, he has prior infractions and brushes with the law.

Further, Justice Kissoon noted that Alleyne’s early guilty plea earned him a one-third reduction in the sentence, bringing the sentence down to 25 years. Alleyne must serve the full 25-year term before becoming eligible for parole. The judge also ordered that Alleyne attend classes and programmes that are catered for persons who are convicted of intimate partner killings.

The official commencement date of the sentence is January 30, 2024, when Alleyne was taken into custody.

Dover’s decomposing body was discovered on April 30, 2021, 28 days after she was reported missing.

Following Dover’s disappearance, Alleyne appeared in a video that circulated widely on social media in which he appeared distraught and expressed concern over her whereabouts. He had reported her missing on April 4, 2021, claiming he believed she had left for work and that he had no knowledge of where she was.

After spending nearly three years on the run, Alleyne was arrested by Suriname authorities in January 2024, before being handed over to Guyanese authorities.

Meanwhile, Dover’s 15-year-old relative confessed to assisting Alleyne in burying her body and later led investigators to the burial site. The relative was subsequently charged with accessory after the fact of murder and remanded to the Juvenile Detention Centre.

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• murder, shallow grave, Shaquawn Alleyne, Shonette Dover

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