The trial of Anil Sancharra and Vinod Gopaul, accused of the 2020 murders of West Coast Berbice cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry, is now entering its final phase, with both men denying any involvement in the killings and attorneys making their final attempts to persuade the jury before deliberations begin.
The matter is being heard before Justice Simone Morris at the Berbice High Court on Thursday. The prosecution, led by State Counsel Marisa Edwards, closed its case after calling 16 witnesses, including relatives of the slain teenagers, community witnesses, Police investigators, key witness Akash Singh and Government pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution sought to build a chain of evidence through relatives, community members and Police investigators before relying on the testimony of Akash Singh. Among the witnesses was farmer Indeejeet Singh, who told the court he saw Isaiah Henry and another youth pushing a bicycle towards the backdam on the day the teenagers disappeared. Gladstone Henry, Isaiah’s father, recounted the family’s search efforts and the eventual discovery of the bodies, while relatives Winston Henry and Laurce Fullington provided evidence about the boys, their movements and events surrounding the search.
The medical evidence came from Dr Nehaul Singh, who testified that both teenagers died from haemorrhage and shock caused by multiple chop wounds inflicted with a sharp object. His testimony established the brutal nature of the killings and later became a key pillar of the prosecution’s argument that the injuries were consistent with the account provided by Akash Singh.
The State also called several Police witnesses who traced the course of the investigation. Rural Constable Devindra Paradat testified that he arrested Akash Singh and Vinod Gopaul on September 6, 2020, in relation to a firearm matter. Inspector Shane James told the court about the arrest of Sancharra in January 2021, while Detective Sergeant Alexie Anys and Sergeant Sheldon Harvey gave evidence regarding interviews and confrontations conducted during the investigation.
Superintendent Rodwell Sarrabo, one of the lead investigators, was extensively challenged by the defence regarding alleged discrepancies in records, the identification of the crime scene and aspects of the overall investigation.
Marijuana camp
The prosecution’s case rested heavily on Akash Singh, who testified that he was present in the backlands and witnessed the killings. Singh told the court that he had accompanied Sancharra and Gopaul to a marijuana camp in the backdam and that the two cousins later encountered the men there. According to Singh, an exchange followed before the teenagers were attacked and killed.
His testimony became the foundation of the state’s case and the central issue around which both the prosecution and defence built their arguments. After the prosecution closed its case, Justice Morris-Ramlall called upon the accused to lead a defence.
Sancharra took the witness stand and spent two days giving evidence. During cross-examination by State Counsel Edwards, he repeatedly denied being present at the alleged crime scene and rejected Akash Singh’s testimony.
The accused maintained that Singh was not telling the truth and insisted he had no involvement in the murders. At one stage, when asked whether Akash Singh was lying, Sancharra responded, “Everything Akash Singh say is lie.” He also denied allegations that he instructed Singh to dispose of weapons or evidence and rejected suggestions that he participated in any attack on the two teenagers.
Sancharra further challenged portions of Singh’s testimony, including claims that the witness had been living in the Black Bush Polder area during the period in question. Gopaul subsequently took the stand and also denied any involvement in the killings.
He told the court that on September 5, 2020, he was arrested by a rural constable in connection with a firearm matter and remained in custody until September 11. According to Gopaul, he was never in the Cotton Tree backlands and could not have participated in the murders because he was already being held by Police.
Gopaul said he first learned of the murders months later when he was arrested again in January 2021. He denied Akash Singh’s allegations, denied instructing anyone to dispose of weapons and told the court that he had been wrongfully implicated.
During his testimony, Gopaul also alleged that he was assaulted while in Police custody and claimed he was pressured to sign documents. However, he acknowledged signing a caution statement. With both accused having completed their evidence, defence attorney Chandra Sohan addressed the jury on Gopaul’s behalf.
Sohan argued that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and urged jurors to carefully examine what he described as significant gaps in the State’s evidence.
The attorney questioned why records relating to Gopaul’s September 2020 detention were not produced and argued that the prosecution had failed to adequately address evidence that his client was already in custody when the murders occurred. He also highlighted what he described as inconsistencies in Akash Singh’s testimony and pointed to the absence of certain evidence from the preliminary inquiry.
According to Sohan, the jury should be cautious about relying on the testimony of a witness whose account changed on important details.
Accept Akash Singh’s evidence
In response, State Counsel Edwards urged jurors to accept Akash Singh’s evidence, arguing that his account was supported by other witnesses and by the medical evidence presented during the trial. She contended that Dr Nehaul Singh’s findings were consistent with the manner in which Akash Singh said the attack was carried out.
Edwards also pointed to testimony from Winston Henry, who told the court that Akash Singh approached him after seeing photographs of the slain cousins in a newspaper. The prosecutor argued that Akash Singh’s account should be believed because he implicated himself in criminal activity while recounting what occurred and had no reason to falsely accuse the defendants.
She further submitted that while the defence focused on discrepancies and record issues, those matters did not undermine the core of the prosecution’s case. Justice Simone Morris is expected to sum up the evidence and provide legal directions to the jury on Tuesday before jurors retire to consider their verdicts. (Andrew Carmichael)
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