A cane harvester was on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow for the murder of Sheniza Mohamed, his teenage ex-girlfriend, at Rosignol, West Coast Berbice during the month of January last year.
A mixed jury at the Berbice Assizes had found 23-year-old Shazam Khalil guilty about two weeks ago, but sentencing had been deferred to Friday.
According to Justice Barlow, Khalil would only be eligible for parole after serving 24 years in prison. However, Khalil’s lawyer Tajenarine Ramroop gave notice that he plans to appeal his client’s sentence.
Khalil of Lot 53 Shieldstown Village, West Bank Berbice had pleaded not guilty to the crime. But State Prosecutor Stacy Goodings presented seven witnesses, who testified that Khalil had attacked Mohamed on January 17, 2015.
It had been previously reported that Mohammed, of Edinburgh Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice, was with friends at a Chinese restaurant at Rosignol. The friends had entered the restaurant, while Mohamed remained outside and this was when the man attacked. The teen was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital and subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, but died before she arrived there. A post-mortem examination had found that Mohamed died from the stab wounds she sustained.