Yogindra Pokhai, 18, and Tishan David, 25, were today charged with the rape and murder of a 52-year-old woman whose body was on Friday found in the backlands of Number 54 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
The duo appeared before Magistrate Tuana Hardy at the Springlands Magistrates’ Court where they were not required to plead to the indictable charge.
The two men, who were represented by Senior Counsel Murseline Bacchus, were remanded to prison until May 8 and the matter was transferred to the Number 51 Village Magistrates’ Court.
It was reported that the accused, whilst in police custody, had confessed to raping and killing Ninawattie Nandalall, called ‘Sharda’, of Lot 14 Number Naught Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
According to the police, a postmortem examination (PME) conducted on the woman’s body has determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation, incise wound to the neck, and fracture of the cervical spine.
The woman had ventured to the backdam around midday on Thursday to pick mangoes, but had never returned. According to the son, they went in search of the woman on Thursday night until 03:00h the following morning, but their efforts were futile. They had returned to the backdam later on Friday morning to resume the search when he made the gruesome discovery.
“My two cousins take one dam and I take the other. While walking, I watched under the bush, and then, about 75 feet away from me, I saw a red cloth and a blue shirt, and when I walk close, I realized that it was my mother,” he detailed. The son added, “It was blood all over her face. Her neck get a cut, and from here come down was naked.”
Initially, three persons were arrested in connection with the murder, but the 18-year-old and the 25-year-old, had confessed to raping and killing the woman, leading to the charges today.
