Five men were yesterday charged with the murders of Better Hope moneychanger Aaron Latchman and his daughter, Arian Latchman.
Mark Rufino, 25, a labourer of Parika; Paul Chan, 37, a conductor of Sophia; Troy Abrams, a vendor of Agricola; Lloyd Sadloo, 37, of Mocha; and Sean Thomas, 41, an electrician of Kitty, were all arraigned at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts.
The men were not required to plead to the indictable charge that on July 4th, at Robert Street, Better Hope, they murdered the Latchmans in the course or furtherance of a robbery.
The father and daughter were killed by armed bandits at their 58 Robert Street, Better Hope North home. According to the police, the bandits would have confronted Aaron as he exited his car and he was shot after he allegedly put up a fight. Arian was shot and killed in the upper flat of the home. The armed bandits then took a bag containing money and escaped in a waiting car.
Aaron Latchman worked as a moneychanger on America Street, while Arian Latchman was a Medical Technology student at the University of Guyana.
Prior to the men making their appearance in court before Magistrate Alisha George, Sadloo was visibly upset about being accused of the murders. The man was heard accusing officers of placing charges against him to gain themselves promotions.
During the hearing, Sadloo, when asked by the magistrate, stated that he has been charged multiple times for various offences.
Also present were relatives of the deceased, who expressed their gratitude to the police for the progress made in the investigation and they were hopeful that they will receive justice. One of the family members related that it has been hard to deal with the loss of Aaron and Arian. The relative said that she hopes that the persons responsible for the murder don’t go free.
The men will make their next court appearance on August 15th.
