Initially indicted for the capital offence of murder over the beating to death of 22-year-old fisherman Shereffudeen Nazamudeen, Surendra Sukhdeo and his daughter Mandy Sukhdeo have been found guilty of the lesser count of manslaughter.
Their co-accused, Rean Ghani, who is also their neighbour, was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter when the jurors delivered their verdicts on Wednesday.
In relation to Surendra Sukhdeo and his daughter, the jury found them unanimously not guilty of murder but returned a 10-2 guilty verdict for the lesser count, finding that they unlawfully killed Nazamudeen called “Sheriff” on February 14, 2017, at Ruby, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).
In light of the verdicts, the father and daughter were further remanded to prison pending a sentencing hearing which is scheduled for September 8.
The trio was represented by a legal team led by Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes, while State Counsel Latifah Elliot, Marisa Edwards, and Simran Gajraj were the prosecutors.
The two Sukhdeos and their neighbour were first tried for the fisherman’s murder in 2021. But with the jury unable to reach verdicts, they were further remanded to prison pending a retrial.
They resided in the Ruby community along with the now dead fisherman.
At the time of this alleged killing, Mandy Sukhdeo had been a Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Alliance for Change (AFC) Councillor, and her father, a Good Hope/Hydronie Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Councillor.
It was reported that Mandy Sukhdeo had claimed that she had been confronted by Nazamudeen, who had snatched her bag and attempted to escape.
She had reportedly raised an alarm, and residents in the neighbourhood had pursued Nazamudeen. Reports are that he was caught in the ruins of a house.
According to reports, he was tied up and beaten.
Following the beating, the man had suffered severe injuries to his body, and had been taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he subsequently succumbed.
Three pieces of wood, suspected to be the murder weapons, were recovered from the scene by detectives. The woman and her father were immediately arrested, while Ghani was apprehended the following day, after he was allegedly implicated by neighbours.
