After five years in jail, a Berbice man was freed of a murder charge on Tuesday, while his cousin is to face sentencing for the lesser count of manslaughter.
Yougeshwar Dhanaram, also known as ‘Shem,’ was released after the state offered no evidence against him, which resulted in the judge ordering the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty, at the Berbice High Court, in New Amsterdam.
However, his cousin, Dharamraj Persaud, also known as ‘Chris,’with whom he was jointly charged with the April 29th, 2012 murder of Sasenarine Persaud, 17, at Number 70 Village, Corentyne, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, for which he will face sentencing next week.
Dhanaram was on remand for five years, after he was charged with the murder in 2012.
He pleaded not guilty at the beginning of his second trial last week in the Berbice High Court.
After State Prosecutor Orinthia Schmidt did not offer any evidence against Dhanaram, his attorney, Tonia Clement Warren, submitted that her client had nothing to defend himself against.
Meanwhile, Persaud will return to court on May 11th, for a probation report and sentencing.
It was alleged that Sasenarine Persaud’s step-father, Naresh Roopnarine, was heading home when the two accused approached him and an argument ensued. Roopnarine had said the men started to “beat him up” and Sasenarine Persaud tried to intervene. The men allegedly turned on the teen and fatally wounded him.
