Vernan Ravi Rangadoo, the Corentyne, Berbice man who fatally stabbed his two step-nephews on Sunday evening at Number 43 Village, was yester-day remanded to prison after he was charged with their murders.
Rangadoo, 49, a labourer of Number 43 Village, Corentyne, appeared at the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court before Magis-trate Alex Moore, who presided over his arraignment via Zoom.
Rangadoo was charged with murdering Surendra Ragoonandan and Mahendra Ramoutar at Number 43 Village on January 31st.
Magistrate Moore indicated to Rangadoo that since it was an indictable charge, he did not have to enter a plea but the man repeatedly said ‘Guilty, sir.’
The magistrate was told by the prosecutor that the file will have to be sent back to the Director of Public Prosecutions since the investigation is not complete and some points have to be cleared up. Magistrate Moore then remanded the unrepresented man to prison until April 23rd, when his next hearing is slated.
After court, Rangadoo told members of the media who were present that he had killed the youths. “Yes I do it. Them boys does beat me steady. Only a mad man would got to do something like this without reason,” he said.
He added that after he heard his brother calling on him, he rushed into the kitchen of the house where he was at and grabbed a knife which he used to stab his two step-nephews.
He also claimed that he had no help in stabbing them.
Meanwhile, post-mortem examinations of the bodies of Ragoonandan, also known as ‘Ranga,’ 25, and Mahendra Ramoutar, also known as ‘Sonny,’ 23, were finally done by pathologist Dr. Vivekanand Bridgemohan, at Anthony’s Funeral Parlour located at Epsom Village, Corentyne.
The doctor gave Ragoonandan’s cause of death as shock and hemorrhage, collapsed lungs and multiple stab wounds, while he gave Ramoutar’s cause of death as shock and hae-morrhage and stab wounds to the abdomen and thorax.
Both deceased resided with their mother, Sookmattie Richmond, 40, a housewife and her husband, Randolph Richmond, also known as ‘Ringo,’ 35, and the couple’s two younger children at Number 43 Village, while Rangadoo resided next door with his father.
The stabbing of both youths as well as their mother occurred after she and her husband got into an argument after returning home from a nearby wedding.
The argument almost became physical before Ramoutar intervened.
Ramoutar and his stepfather reportedly started to fight just around 10.30 pm and the deceased used a glass bottle to pelt his stepfather, which caused a minor injury on his forehead.
An aunt claimed that Randolph Richmond then called on his brother, Rangadoo, who then rushed out armed with a knife and in a fit of rage began stabbing Ragoonandan on the road.
Ramoutar after noticing this ventured out but he was reported-ly attacked too, after which their mother, who rushed out, was also attacked. Anthony Persaud, a relative of the accused, who was also injured while attempting to stop the attack was released from the hospital on Monday.
Up to yesterday afternoon, Sookmattie Richmond remained hospitalised at the New Amster-dam Public Hospital. When contacted by Stabroek News, she said that she was still experienc-ing pain and other issues due to the injuries she suffered and added that she is recovering slowly.
Meanwhile, multiple police sources told this publication that after stabbing the youths, Rangadoo returned home, where he watched television and ate some food. The sources confirmed that he was arrested while watching television and eating.
