AFTER days of investigations, the police on Tuesday charged a 20-year-old mechanic of Middle Road, La Penitence, for the murder of the 42-year-old supply chain manager of Aurora Gold Mines.
Anthony Ragnauth appeared before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and stood calmly in the prisoners’ dock as the indictable charge was being read to him.
The court heard that on May 21 at Thomas Street, North Cummingburg, Ragnauth murdered Neil Whyte of Ontario, Canada.
However, Ragnauth’s attorney Latchmi Rahamat, told the court that her client had his testicles squeezed with a baton by police officers who beat him while in custody.
The defendant was remanded to prison and the matter was transferred to the Chief Magistrate for June 18.
According to reports, the body of Whyte of Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was found on Monday, May 21 in an apartment at Thomas Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown. The naked body bore several visible stab wounds to the neck.
According to the police, the victim was staying at the upper flat of an apartment of a three-storey concrete building located on Thomas Street, after returning from the hinterland on Monday.
Residents said that earlier in the night, the man came downstairs and told a friend that he would be meeting someone at the corner of Thomas and Middle Streets.
He subsequently returned to the building with an ex-employee, who later left.
The guard at the premises, knowing that it was the protocol of the complex that a visitor of a guest must be checked out of the building by the guest, later went up to Whyte’s room and saw him lying in a pool of blood on the bed. He appeared to be dead and was naked and bound. The guard informed his superiors who subsequently informed the police.
The murder is reported to have occurred between 22:22hrs and 23:45hrs on Monday. The police had arrested a 25-year-old ex-employee of Whyte at his Vryheid Village, West Canje, Berbice home but he was later released.
However, acting on information received, the police arrested Ragnauth and he reportedly confessed to killing Whyte. He then took the police to a house at Fifth Street, Alberttown where he handed over several items that belonged to Whyte. He also handed over a knife, which is suspected to be the murder weapon.
