A MIXED jury, on Friday, returned a unanimous verdict to convict Munilall Sarjoo called “Long Hair” of the murder of Levan Chandarpaul, whose body was found in a shallow grave in August 2016.

After the verdict was presented at the Berbice Assizes, a teary-eyed Sarjoo maintained his innocence. He told the court that he came from the United States of America to improve his life but instead spent four years in jail.

However, Justice Simone Ramlall- Morris reminded him of the guilty verdict. She adjourned sentencing which is expected after the presentation of a probation report and a victim impact statement to the court on March 25.

State prosecutrix, Tuanna Hardy, in her opening address, had submitted that Chandarpaul was last seen in the company of Sarjoo. Chandarpaul, formerly of Number 68 Village, Corentyne, Berbice was murdered between August 22 and 26, 2016.
Hardy told the court that the prosecution would prove that the accused killed Chandarpaul before bounding his hands and feet and burying him in a shallow grave.

In his evidence, Government Pathologist, Dr. Vivekanand Bridgemohan, noted that the man’s death was as a result of a fractured skull where there was also internal bleeding. There were two fractures to the skull, one of which was fragmented, the doctor recounted in his testimony.

The injuries, he said, were consistent with someone being hit with a blunt instrument. He opined that the murder weapon was a piece of wood. Additionally, debris was found in the victim’s trachea, which confirmed that the injuries were inflicted prior to death.

Several witnesses testified during Zoom hearings, and were cross examined by defence counsel, Rodwell Jugmohan. Among those who testified were the parents of the deceased, ranks of police’s Major Crime Unit and an eyewitness who saw the deceased entering Sarjoo’s motorcar and the body after it was exhumed from the Corentyne backlands. The man’s body was clad in the same clothes he was last seen wearing.