Three years after their accomplices admitted robbing and killing retired professor Pairaudeau `Perry’ Mars, Timothy Paul Chance and Andre Benjamin who had professed their innocence, yesterday admitted their involvement in the crime as well.
Their admission comes one week after their case was empaneled for trial.
At their arraignment last Monday, the young men denied the capital indictment for murdering Mars during a robbery at his Prashad Nagar, Georgetown home on May 12th, 2016.
A jury was then empaneled before High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon who had set Monday of this week for the commencement of the trial, but eventually only held a case management conference (CMC) to set timelines for the trial.
Before their case was called yesterday morning for commencement, however, the Court was informed through attorneys for the young men, the new course they wished to adopt.
They were then re-arraigned; again denying charges for murder, but accepting guilt on the lesser count of manslaughter.
Justice Kissoon has, however, deferred their sentencing to June 9th for the presentation of probation and other social reports; as well as mitigating and aggravating submissions from their lawyers and the prosecution respectively.
Chance and Benjamin are being represented by defence attorneys Ronald Daniels and Kiswana Jefford.
Meanwhile, the State is being represented by Prosecutor Taneisha Saygon, in association with Abigail Gibbs.
The jointly-charged duo was among a group of five youths who robbed and killed the retired professor.
Back in July of 2019, Nikesha Dover, Orin McRae and Naomi Adams were sentenced to a combined 34 years behind bars after admitting their involvement in the crime.
Dover and McRae were sentenced to 12 years each, with deductions for time they had spent on remand awaiting trial. Meanwhile, Adams, the youngest among the group—15 at the time the offence was committed—was sentenced to 10 years with deductions also be made for time spent.
The prosecution’s case is that the youths had gone to Mars’ house, where they assisted in holding him down as others in their company choked him.
Thereafter, the prosecutor said, the group of teens ransacked and robbed the man’s premises.
He died as a result of asphyxiation from a bag which was placed over his head, before he was eventually strangled.
Police had said that Mars, 75, also known as ‘Perry,’ was found in his Prashad Nagar home with his hands and feet duct taped and injuries to his head.
His house was ransacked and a number of articles and cash were stolen.
Mars, who was discovered by his wife on her return home from Linden, was rushed to St Joseph Mercy Hospital, where he died while receiving medical attention.
Among the items recovered by the police in the possession of some of the teens were a sum of cash, a laptop computer, an iPhone and a video game console, the lawmen had said in a statement.
