The accused in the murder of Timehri resident McLean Benjamin, whose battered body was discovered face-down a short distance away from a ‘wedding house,’ will serve a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.
The initial indictment against Dister Narine Kusranie alleged that between March 6 and 7, 2011, he murdered Benjamin. However, Kusranie, also known as ‘Harry Narine,’ pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter before Justice Navindra Singh.
At the time, Benjamin, a logger of Baramita Village, North West District, had been staying with a friend at Alliance Road, Timehri.
According to State Prosecutor Orinthia Schmidt, Benjamin’s death had reportedly stemmed from a confrontation with Kusranie. The confrontation arose after Benjamin objected to Kusranie dancing with his daughter.
Sometime later, the accused attacked Benjamin and dealt him several blows to the head with a piece of wood. Benjamin’s battered body was found the following morning at the side of a house located a short distance away from the wedding house.
Schmidt noted that a post-mortem examination conducted on Benjamin’s body revealed that the man died due to asphyxiation as a result of compression to the neck and head, compounded by multiple blunt trauma to the head.
Prior to sentencing, defence counsel Adrian Thompson asked the judge to take into consideration the fact that his client did not waste the court’s time by going ahead with a trial. He added that Kusranie wanted to bring closure to the matter.
He further stated that Kusranie had expressed deep remorse for his actions and has since apologised to the family of the deceased.
“I apologise to his family because I know what I did was wrong,” Kusranie told the court.
Taking these factors into consideration, Justice Singh imposed an eight-year prison sentence, albeit with five years deducted for the time Kusranie had served while being on remand.
Before stepping off the bench, Justice Singh took the opportunity to wish Kusranie good luck and encouraged the young man to take the time to continuously rehabilitate himself.
