Five teenagers appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court Tuesday morning, charged with the murder of former University of Guyana Professor Parietdeau Mars, called ‘Perry’, 75.

The matter was held ‘in camera’, thus reporters were not allowed inside the courtroom. The Guyana Chronicle understands that the five teens – three boys and two girls – were not required to plead to the indictable offense and were remanded to prison.

Mars was killed on May 12 by a gang of teens who beat and bound him in his Prashad Nagar, Georgetown home. The teens are between the ages of 15 and 17 and reportedly confessed to the murder/robbery while in police custody.

On the day in question, at about 18:30hrs, the Professor was found in his home by his wife with his hands and feet duct-taped and with injuries to his head. The house was ransacked, and a number of articles and cash were missing. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a private hospital.

According to reports, the teens were known to Professor Mars. They were arrested after neighbours observed the group leaving the retired Professor’s residence with suitcases in a car, and subsequently his wife returned home and found his bloodied and lifeless body in the house.

Less than 24-hours later, police arrested the suspects and recovered the sum of cash, laptop computer, iPod and PlayStation that were taken from Mars’ home.

Mars specialised in African Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, USA; having studied history at the University of Guyana and Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

He was also credited with developing an international academic exchange project between Africana Studies, the College of Urban Labor and Metropolitan Affairs (CULMA), and the University of Guyana.