A MIXED 12-member jury was, on Wednesday, empanelled before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Demerara High Court for the trial of Alvin Reid, called ‘Satan,’ for the murder of 14-year-old Malika Hamilton, whose body was found floating in the Hope Canal, East Coast Demerara (ECD) in August 2016.

Reid, formerly of Nimrod Street, Ann’s Grove, ECD pleaded not guilty to the indictment which read that between August 8 and August 9, 2016, he murdered Hamilton.
He is being represented by attorneys-at-law Konyo Sandiford and Iyanna Butts, while prosecutors Gajraj, Muntaz Ali and Taneisha Saygon are on record for the State.
The trial is scheduled to commence on October 11.

The ‘Miss African Calabash 2014’ beauty queen had left her home at Two Friends Village, Ann’s Grove, ECD, but never returned.

According to reports, the deceased and the accused were known to each other and, on August 8, 2016, they went to swim at Hope Canal. The teenager was not seen alive again. Her body was discovered the following day in the canal.

Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, conducted an autopsy on the body of Hamilton and found that she had been brutally bludgeoned to her head, strangled and dumped alive in the canal.

Police later went searching for Reid and found him hiding in a barrel at a relative’s house. He was subsequently charged and remanded.

In 2018, Reid was discharged from the offence by Magistrate Peter Hugh due to insufficient evidence. Police, however, filed new evidence for the case and Reid was recharged.

Magistrate Hugh, based on the evidence submitted, committed Reid to stand trial for the capital offence.

In 2019, Reid was “accidentally” released from prison while on remand for the murder. After eluding the police for three years, Reid was arrested last month in Ann’s Grove.