A teary-eyed Patrick Anthony Balgobin, 34, was led away to prison yesterday after he was found guilty by a 12-member jury on the lesser count of manslaughter, and was sentenced to 20 years by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow for killing his boss.In the High Court, after the verdict was announced, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow started at a base of 25 years, but deducted five years for the time spent in jail. Justice Barlow encouraged Balgobin to use the time of his sentence to reflect on what he had done, and to make amends. Defence attorney Maxwell McKay told the court that Balgobin was learning to read in the penitentiary.

And Balgobin, on the verge of tears, told the court that he was very sorry for everything. He had spent five years and six months incarcerated while awaiting trial.

The charge stated that the accused had murdered 72-year-old poultry farmer Rudolph Moonsammy between June 7, 2010 and June 10, 2010 at St. Lawrence, East Bank Essequibo.

A post-mortem performed by Pathologist Dr. Vivikanand Brijmohan gave the cause of death as (a) shock and hemorrhage due to lacerations to the brain and (b) fractured skull.

There were five witnesses who testified under oath in the case. The charge was re-read to the accused, stating that between June 7, 2010 and June 10, 2010, he allegedly murdered Rudolph Moonsammy, his employer.

The state was represented by Diana Kaulesar and Tuanna Hardy. During her opening address, Tuanna Hardy told the court that the accused had murdered his employer during a quarrel. They had lived in the same yard, and he had followed Moonsammy to a dam, where he dealt Moonsammy several blows to the body with a piece of wood; and after the wood had broken, he chopped the man with a cutlass. Moonsammy, although mortally wounded, had managed to crawl into his house, and was later discovered by a neighbour.
Moonsammy died three days later from extensive injuries to his head.