ONE year after he was set free, Marcus Bisram is expected to turn himself over to the authorities to stand trial at the High Court for the 2016 brutal slaying of 26-year-old Berbice carpenter, Faiyaz Narinedatt.

This is following a ruling made by the Court of Appeal on Monday in favour of a challenge filed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., to challenge the decision made by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall on June 1, 2020 to free the Guyanese-American philanthropist.

Justice Morris-Ramlall had granted several orders which led to Bisram’s release. The first order granted by the trial judge was for the quashing of the decision of the DPP made on or about March 30, 2020, directing Magistrate Renita Singh to re-open the preliminary inquiry into the charge against Bisram, with a view to committing him for the said charge on the ground that the decision of the DPP was unreasonable, unlawful, and made by ignoring relevant considerations and ultra vires.

The second was an order of certiorari for the quashing of the decision of the DPP, directing Magistrate Singh to commit Bisram for trial in the High Court. Additionally, the judge granted an order which prohibited the DPP from proffering an indictment in the High Court charging Bisram. Following the judge’s order, Bisram walked out of the Camp Street Prison, on June 2, 2020, after the final documents were signed.

Dissatisfied, the DPP moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn the ruling.
In delivering the unanimous decision, the Chancellor (ag) of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards said: “We are of the view that the committal proceedings by the magistrate and the direction by the Director of Public Prosecutions would not have been invalid.”

The court which also consisted of Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud, allowed the appeal filed by the DPP.
Bisram’s attorney Arudranauth Gossai has given the court oral notice of his intention to file an appeal with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

In the interim, Bisram is expected to turn himself over to the police and will be placed on remand to stand trial for the capital offence of murder before the High Court.

Bisram, a U.S citizen, was freed on March 30, 2020, after Magistrate Renita Singh at the Whim Magistrate’s Court found the State did not have sufficient evidence against him.

However, just hours later, Bisram was re-arrested as the DPP ordered the magistrate to re-open the case on the grounds that there is enough evidence for him to stand a High Court trial.
As a result, Bisram’s lawyers moved to the High Court to challenge the DPP’s instruction. He was subsequently freed by Justice Morris-Ramlall.

Bisram is accused of being the mastermind in the killing of Narinedatt on October 31, 2016. Narinedatt’s body was found on Number 70 Village road in Berbice. The next day police arrested his attackers who confessed that the flamboyant Bisram had ordered them to commit the killing. It is alleged that the carpenter refused Bisram’s sexual advances which led to him ordering the hit.

Bisram returned to the United States after the crime but was subsequently extradited to Guyana in November 2019, after spending over two years in prison.