The stepfather of four-year-old Alex Prince who was allegedly raped and killed during last week was on Tuesday remanded to prison after he was charged with murder.
Joseph James, a 21-year-old labourer was not required to plead to the capital offence when he appeared before Magistrate Sherdell Isaacs in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court 3.
Bail was refused and the matter was adjourned to today when it will be called again before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for reassignment.
James and the 18-year-old mother of Prince were taken into custody after an autopsy showed that the child died as a result of head trauma and had been raped.
Prince was discovered dead last Monday at Silver Hill, Linden-Soesdyke Highway after he was left in the custody of James.
Stabroek News understands that James was charged based on legal advice obtained by the police. Prince’s mother has since been released.
Earlier this week, Senior Superintendent Kurleigh Simon, Commander of Region Four (b) (Eccles – Moblissa) had told Stabroek News that the child’s death is being treated as a homicide.
“The doctor gave his opinion which caused the police to believe that it was a homicide…based on the verbal opinion of the doctor, the child’s death was not natural, so we are actually dealing with a homicide investigation,” Simon had explained.
Information reaching this newspaper had revealed that Prince was left at home in the care of James while his 18-year-old mother went to work.
James reportedly told the police that around 9.30am last Monday, he left home and went to a shop.
Upon his return, he said, he discovered the child lying on the bed naked and motionless.
The child was rushed to Linden Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
A post-mortem examination revealed that he died as a result of blunt trauma to the head and that he had been sodomised.
