The murder trial for the gruesome killings of cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry continued on Wednesday at the Berbice High Court, where key prosecution witness Akash Singh claimed that the two accused had instructed him to falsely tell investigators that police had beaten him.
The trial before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall involves accused Anil Sancharra, known as “Dan Pole” or “Rasta,” and Vinod Gopaul, known as “Magga,” who are on trial for the September 2020 murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry in the Number Three Village backdam.
The State’s case is being led by prosecutor Marisa Edwards, while attorneys-at-law Dr. Dexter Todd and Chandra Sohan are appearing for the defense.
Akash Singh, who was initially charged in connection with the killings before later becoming a prosecution witness, continued giving evidence on Wednesday. Earlier in the trial, Singh testified that he accompanied the accused men into the backdam, where cannabis was being cultivated, and claimed he witnessed the chopping deaths of the two cousins.
He also previously told the court that after the killings, the bodies were tied and placed onto a horse, and that Gopaul had instructed him to mark an “X” on the foreheads of the two teenagers before the bodies were removed. Singh further testified that after the incident, he informed his sister and two other persons about what took place, but they did not believe him.
On Wednesday, Singh was cross-examined for more than two hours as defense attorney Dr. Dexter Todd challenged several aspects of his account. Singh maintained that he accompanied the accused men into the Cotton Tree backdam to plant cannabis and recalled fetching fertilizer and food items into the area on previous occasions.
He denied repeated suggestions from the defense that he fabricated his story or that police investigators had beaten him into giving statements. Instead, Singh claimed that while in prison, the suspects instructed him to falsely tell investigators that police had assaulted him.
He further told the court that he was fearful for his life since he had witnessed what they had done to the teens. Attorney-at-law Chandra Sohan later questioned Singh about his appearance while allegedly being incarcerated, suggesting that his long hair indicated that he had not been imprisoned but was instead hiding elsewhere.
Singh rejected that assumption and said prisoners were allowed to keep long hair. “I came out from prison to tell the truth,” he asserted. Singh also maintained that no charges against him had been dropped and denied receiving promises from investigators in exchange for his testimony.
He further took detectives to a location where the cutlasses were disposed of, but investigators were unable to locate them.
The prosecution later called Sergeant Rodwell Sarabo, who led a team of investigators from the Major Crime Unit into the backdam in January 2021. He said investigators walked for several hours during the operation while adding that Assistant Superintendent of Police Caesar was in charge of the Major Crimes Unit at the time, and as such, it was not necessary for him to provide statements in the investigation.
The sergeant further stated that Akash Singh became a suspect based on what he described as credible information received by investigators.
He also told the court that investigators contacted Singh’s sister and two other persons after receiving information that Singh had spoken with them about the killings. Under cross-examination, Sarabo stated that he played a supervisory role in the investigation. He is expected to return to court on Thursday as cross-examination continues.
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