4 charged with murder of Mon Repos man

Three teenagers, along with a thirty-three-year old suspect, were on Friday charged for the murder of 30-year-old Christopher Swamy of Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, which occurred on Sunday last.

The accused; Vikash Persaud, 18, Osafo Douglas, 19, Rafael Hannif, 19, and Jessie Knight, 33, appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court and were not required to plea to the capital offence of murder.

The men stood before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul who later remanded the men to prison until December 12, 2018.

Meanwhile, the three teenagers who had reportedly admitted to committing the heinous crime told the court that they were severely beaten by police to confess to the allegations.

Divisional Commander Calvin Brutus had said that one of the suspects was positively identified by the dead man’s wife during an identification parade on Monday last.

The father of two was gunned down on Sunday after four armed men invaded his Lot 161 Mon Repos Pasture, East Coast Demerara (ECD) property.

Based on information received, the late Swamy, his wife, his sister-in-law, and friends: 28-year-old Rawle Williams and his spouse Marcia Williams, 38, were liming and imbibing in front of the home when, at about 01:30h, they were confronted by two masked men, one of whom was brandishing a handgun.

Police say the suspects relieved Marcia Williams of a cellphone and an undisclosed sum of cash, after which they assaulted her husband to the head. It was during the commotion that Swamy was shot to the chest. The men then fled the scene.

Swamy and Williams were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Swamy was pronounced dead on arrival and Williams was admitted.

A post mortem performed by Dr Nehaul Singh on the body of Swamy gave the cause of death as gunshot wound to the left chest.