Gowkarran Ramdayal, called `Silence’, was sentenced to death yesterday, after a jury found him guilty of the murder of his father.
Justice Dawn Gregory Barnes informed Ramdayal of the judgment at the High Court in Berbice.
Ramdayal, 25, of Queenstown, Corriverton, was charged with murdering Bhowan Ramdayal, 51. The senior Ramdayal was allegedly beaten with an iron bar about his body at their home after a misunderstanding between the two men, on October 10, 2007, over money.
Gowkarran had asked his father for $100 but the man told him that he should seek a job. An argument ensued, during which Gowkarran picked up an iron bar and beat his father. He then picked up a pipe and continued the beating, before walking out of the yard.
The injured man was subsequently hospitalised for a month before being released. However, he was subsequently hospitalised at the Skeldon Hospital, where he died on January 16, 2008. Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan gave the cause of death as Septicaemia and fractures to the skull.
Gowkarran Ramdayal’s mother Durpattie Deodat, 49, and his younger brother Hemant Ramdayal, 21, both testified that they witnessed the accused injuring his father.
State appointed attorney Charandass Persaud, in his summation, told the court about the discrepancies in the testimonies.
Prosecutor Dionne McCammon, however, in her presentation noted that even if the eyewitness evidence was not enough, the accused could be convicted on circumstantial evidence.
Before the trial commenced, the judge had ordered a psychiatric evaluation of the accused after he refused to speak when questioned in the court.
