A man yesterday admitted to chopping his mother-in-law and step-daughter to death during a 2014 attack.
Joshua Franklyn was yesterday placed before Justice Sandil Kissoon where he admitted that on December 18th, 2014, he killed Bibi Zalima Khan, 55, and Ashley Boodhoo, 9 at Phase Two Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo. While he was charged with murder, he pleaded guilty to lesser counts of manslaughter.
State Prosecutor Abigail Gibbs noted that on the day in question, Franklyn entered Khan’s home and attacked her with a cutlass and then dealt the nine-year-old several chops.
The accused had also inflicted injuries to his wife, Geeta Boodhoo, who managed to escape. The man also allegedly killed his wife’s lover, Floyd Drakes, during the attack.
Franklyn told the court that at the time the home was his and his wife had Drakes, whom she was romantically involved with, at the property, which led him to react in the manner he did.
The proceedings were adjourned by Justice Kissoon until October 16th for sentencing and the presentation of a probation report.
According to previous reports, Franklyn attacked Khan with a machete in the living room of the home as she attempted to escape, while the nine-year-old was hacked to death after she had left the room in which she and her siblings were hiding to look for her mother. Drakes was also badly chopped as he tried to escape.
