By Celestine Juan

FIVE teens appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Tuesday, charged with the murder of 75-year-old retired professor Pairadeau Mars, who was bound, beaten and strangled last Thursday in his home.

The teenagers were charged jointly for the murder of the former University of Guyana Professor on Thursday, May 12, at his Lot 395 Bissessar Street, Prashad Nagar home, during the course of a robbery.
The matter was held ‘in camera’, thus reporters were not allowed inside the courtroom.

The five teens – three boys and two girls – were not required to plead to the indictable offence and were remanded to prison until June 14.

Mars was killed last Thursday by a gang of teens, who beat and bound him in his 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 and entering a car, which left the scene. 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 a 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.

A post mortem performed on Monday revealed that death was due to manual strangulation, compounded by multiple fractures to the head and face.

Meanwhile the Magistrates’ Court was in chaos at one point with families of the youths and police officers clashing.

Adding to the drama, a journalist was allegedly assaulted by police officers and forced into the prisoners’ detention area. Media operatives were later ordered out of the compound and the area was cordon off.