A 31-year-old man of Kortberaadt, East Bank Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) was today sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of abducting, raping and murdering a 13-year-old boy in September 2017.
The sentence was handed down by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Berbice High Court, some three weeks after the Hillary Edwards was found guilty by a mixed jury for the rape and murder of Leonard Archibald.
Edwards maintained his innocence even after being found guilty of the crimes.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Morris-Ramlall said Edwards will not be eligible for parole until after serving 27 years in jail. Additionally, she ordered that he receive counselling four times annually during the period of his incarceration.
Reports are that between September 17 and September 24, 2017, Edwards sodomised Archibald of Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice, and in the process killed him.
One of the prosecution’s main witness, Constable Beharry Jaigopaul had told the court that Edwards had given a confession statement during which he admitted to luring the child to his home and then committing the act and later throwing him into the Berbice River with his hands and feet bound.
