HOURS after Rooplall Abrahim was sentenced to life imprisonment for the gruesome murder of Arthur Doodnauth Rajkumar and his common-law wife Devi Dianne Chamanalall, Justice Brassington Reynolds imposed a 24-year sentence on his co-accused Madanpaul Gocool.  The murder accused had opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. Justice Reynolds during a Zoom hearing on Monday described Abrahim and Gocool as “Beastly Berbice Butchers,” who have brought much disgust to his ears. “This is a tale of disrespect. The post- mortem report is as though they were from the butchery…. a devil inspired Rooplall Abrahim  … have been consumed by whatever drug… you and your cohort have robbed the community of a skill set. .You got rid of Mr Rajkumar. You have robbed the community of a valuable human resource… he taught your men the skill of welding… Together you have killed, not just one, nor two, but three lives … I have considered your age and I have spared you a life sentence. However, using 35 years as a benchmark, I deduct five years for the guilty plea, five years for time spent and another year for remorse shown and mitigation.

The sentence of this court is 24 years imprisonment,” he said. Further, Justice Reynolds ordered that the accused be exposed to remedial and rehabilitation programmes in prison. Earlier, prosecutrix Abigail Gibbs had described in detail the wounds on the bodies of the deceased couple. Their bodies each bore over 20 deep incised injuries, severed body parts and fractures.  The couple died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to multiple incised wounds. Prior to the brutal killings, the couple were at home when Abrahim and another entered . According to a caution statement attributed to the now convicted man, he, along with others had broken into the house through a grill door on January 9, 2016. They searched the house and packed foodstuff and cigarettes whilst searching for money.
After contact was made with the victims, they did not exercise mercy; the couple were severely chopped.

According to the state attorney, the extent of the couple’s blood loss was evident when the police went to Gocool’s home, where blood stains were seen in his bathroom. “He confessed that he took a bath as his shirt was filled with blood” the prosecutrix noted. “During the post- mortem examination, the pathologist observed that Rajkumar’s vest was heavily bloodstained, so too was the nylon nightdress worn by Devi Chamanalall,” she added. Chamanalall’s father Jodhan, said his daughter was his caregiver, primarily after he suffered an almost similar fate which resulted in a bullet being lodged in his spine. Defence counsel Ravindra Mohabir in his plea of mitigation argued that it was Abrahim who started to chop the couple moments after they had exited their bedroom, and not his client, whose only intention was to rob his victims.