TWENTY-YEAR-OLD Krystol Thomas, the pregnant girlfriend of murder accused Staymon George; her mother, 39-year-old Sinfine Henry, also known as “Coreen”; and Jahmil Sinclair,19, also known as “Frass” and ‘Bacchus”, were all brought before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday, charged with murder.The trio was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which detailed that on October 14, at Kildonan Village, Corentyne, East Berbice, they murdered British teen Dominic Bernard.

The number one accused, Aaron Hing, 22, and number two accused Staymon George, 23, had appeared before the chief magistrate on Thursday and were remanded to prison until yesterday, when they made their appearance before the chief magistrate for assigning.

All five accused were remanded to prison, and the matter has been transferred to the Whim Magistrate’s Court for January 21.

Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, representing the three accused, yesterday made an application to the court concerning the particulars of the offence. The lawyer stated that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had instituted a charge wherein the principle of the offence had not been committed by the clients.

According to Hughes, last Wednesday, when his clients were in custody at the Whim Police Station, they were informed by an officer that a charge of obstruction of justice would soon be laid against them.

He pointed out that the DPP should have instituted a charge of accessory to the crime, rather than charging the trio for the capital offence of murder.

The lawyer opted to take the matter to the High Court to be legally sorted out, since he said the police “were abusing their power.”

The British teenager reportedly arrived in Guyana on the evening of October 14, 2015 and has since not been seen. His father, during his visit to Guyana for news on his son, met with Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, who promised that the police would do everything in their power to solve the mystery.

The teen’s godbrother, Aaron Hing, became a person of interest after he disappeared when the police attempted to contact him. As law-enforcement officers continued to dig for information, George was added to the list of suspects.

Wanted bulletins were issued for the two men as suspicion grew about their involvement in the teen’s disappearance.

Police later captured them both — Hing at a city hotel and George at a house in Tucville, Georgetown. They were arrested after the decomposed body of a male, believed to be that of the missing teenager, was discovered a few villages from Kildonan, the village where the teen was expected to spend his time during his visit to Guyana.

The two later admitted that they had collected the teen from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on October 14, 2015 and, on their way to Berbice, they stopped along Sheriff Street, where they ate and drank a few beers.

The latest development in the case was the discovery of the teen’s camera and its components. These were dug up after a third suspect, Jahmil Sinclair, took law enforcement officers to an area behind Nurney Village and pointed out where he had hidden the equipment.

Sinclair admitted that he was promised payment to hide the teen’s belongings on the night he was fatally beaten. Later on Sunday evening, the said suspect led ranks to another area where the laptop that belonged to the teenager was reportedly hidden.

To date, they have not confirmed when they actually murdered the teen, since one suspect claimed it was done on the night he arrived in Guyana, while the other claimed it was a week after. It was reported that the two suspects had dug the grave two days in advance.

A post-mortem performed at the area where the corpse had been left overnight revealed that the British teen was struck at the back of the head. He sustained a fractured skull and a broken neck.

By Clestine Juan