A 29-year-old ex-soldier, who was in 2019 sentenced to life imprisonment for beheading his uncle, has now moved to the Court of Appeal (COA) to challenge the sentence and conviction.
Dwayne Tappin was sentenced by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the High Court after he was found guilty by a 12-member jury and convicted for killing 51-year-old Randolph Seenauth on August 6, 2017, at Lot 125 South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
During the virtual hearing on Friday, Tappin told the court that his family cannot afford a lawyer, and as such, requested a State-assigned lawyer to take over his case. The matter comes up again on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, for reports.
It was reported that on the day in question, Seenauth’s head was found lying between the living room and kitchen of his Better Hope, ECD house. His body was later found in the bedroom.
The gruesome discovery was made after Police were summoned to the scene by neighbours who heard a loud commotion in the man’s home, which he shared with his nephew.
The accused, however, turned himself in a few hours later. He was charged for murder and remanded to prison.
Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), he was committed to stand trial before a judge and jury and was found guilty, after which, he was sentenced to 60 years with the possibility of parole after severing 40 years.
