Two more accused who were on trial for the 2016 Black Bush Polder (BBP) triple murder yesterday pleaded guilty hours after Indrawattie Rooplall testified that the accused were friendly with her husband before he and the two others were killed.
Carlton Chaitram, known as ‘Lyma’ of Mibi-curi (BBP) and Rakesh Karamchand known as ‘Go-To-Front,’ who are both represented by attorney-at-law, Mursaline Bacchus, in conjunction with attorney-at- law, Chandra Sohan, separately pleaded guilty to three counts of murder yesterday.
They are accused of murdering Pawan Chandradeo, 38; his son, Jaikarran Chandradeo, 15; and his brother-in-law, Naresh Rooplall, 33, at the Mibicuri Backdam.
The two will return to court on February, 15, for sentencing.
Initially, four men; Carlton Chaitram, known as ‘Lyma’; his son, Jairam Chaitram; Tameshwar Jagmohan, known as ‘Guava,’ of Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder and Rakesh Karamchand known as ‘Go-To-Front,’ of Sheet Anchor, East Canje Berbice, were charged and then committed to stand trial for the murders.
However, after a jury was empaneled last month Jairam Chaitram pleaded guilty to all three counts. He will return to court on February, 10, for sentencing.
Jagmohan, who is being represented by attorney-at-law, Surihya Sabsook, remains on trial at the High Court in Berbice.
Before the two men decided to enter their guilty plea yesterday, Rooplall also known as ‘Pam’, of Lot 163 Mibicuri North, Black Bush Polder, testified that her husband shared an extremely friendly relationship with (Carlton) Chaitram as he even worked with him for a period. She added, that her husband also knew Jagmohan and Karam-chand since they also worked with Chaitram.
“They [Chaitram and her husband] are friends, they had a great relationship. He does come by me and my husband does go by him and them does hang out,” the widow related. She stressed that her relatives did not have any issue with the accused.
The woman recalled, that on July 21, 2016, at about 2.30 pm, her husband, two sons, and brother left home to go fishing in the Kokerite Savannah. However, the following day around 8.30 am she received a message that “something happen in the back dam.”
She then phoned Carlton Chaitram (since she had his number and he was known to her) who informed her that he heard three persons “get shoot and chop and up.”
She then began informing relatives prompting her father to head to the three-bridge area where they found her younger son walking out of the dam.
She again stressed that since her husband worked with Chaitram and she had his number, she thought it best to phone him even as she then proceeded to positively identify the accused in court.
She was also adamant that she knew ‘Guana’ (Jagmohan) as he worked with Chaitram and her husband, and she identified him during yesterday’s proceedings, while she noted that ‘Go to front’ (Karamchand) also would hang out with the men and she identified him as well.
Around 1.30 pm on the day in question she attended the Mibicuri Cottage Hospital where she identified the bodies of her husband, son, and brother after they were brought out from the backlands by investigators.
On 25 July 2016, around 10 am, Rooplall was at the Skeldon Public Hospital, where she again identified their bodies and post-mortem examinations were done. A funeral service was held for her three deceased relatives on 27 July 2016.
Ricard Persaud, who was attached to CID and stationed at the Whim Police Station, also testified yesterday. He stated that he went into the backlands and discovered the bodies after an alarm was raised.
He also testified to being present during the post-mortem examinations, and when the murder weapons were discovered. He also positively identified the murder weapons in court yesterday.
The deceased’s bodies were discovered with their baskets and cast nets around them, and Persaud recalled that the two older deceased even had their cast nets attached to their hands.
Post-mortem examinations revealed that Pawan Chandradeo sustained gunshot injuries, a laceration to his head resulting in a fractured skull and that he subsequently died of shock and haemorrhaging. Jaikarran Chandradeo’s cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhaging, laceration of the brain, and gunshot injuries, and Naresh Rooplall, 33, had also died of shock and haemorrhaging and gunshot injuries.
