A 45-YEAR-OLD contractor was on Monday remanded to prison for the brutal murder of 29-year-old Shannen Obermullah-Mohamed, whose charred remains were found outside her Parika, East Bank Essequibo home, which was under construction by him.

Randolph Reece of Parika appeared before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court charged with the capital offence.
Reece was not required to plead to the charge which said that on September 5, 2023, he murdered Obermullah-Mohamed.
He was remanded to prison until November 13.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that on Tuesday, September 5, an anonymous person (via telephone) reported the discovery of the body to the police.
Officers swiftly responded to the call, arriving at the scene 20 minutes later, where they encountered a gruesome sight—an apparent burnt skull and torso amidst debris in front of an unfinished concrete structure. Nearby, a sledgehammer and crowbar were discovered.
Authorities canvassed the scene and questioned several individuals in the vicinity. One neighbour recalled seeing Reece burning wood and materials in the yard around 10:00 hrs that morning but thought nothing of it at the time.

Further investigations revealed disturbing details. On the morning of the day in question, Obermullah-Mohamed visited the location where her home was under construction by Reece
“During the day, family members tried contacting Shannen, but all calls went unanswered, and her whereabouts were unknown,” the police said in a statement.
The situation took a sinister turn when family members ventured into the yard on the day in question.

They encountered a fire and noticed Reece walking away, disappearing into the darkness. Armed with buckets of water from a nearby source, they extinguished the flames and made a horrifying discovery—an apparent human skull among the charred debris. They promptly summoned the police.
“It was also brought to the attention of the ranks that ‘Reece’ is mentally unstable and is known to Shannen’s family. Despite his mental condition, they said he does quality construction for the family, and his fees are reasonable,” the police said in the release.

The scene was thoroughly processed, and pertinent items were tagged and placed into police custody.
Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, who performed the post-mortem examination on the remains, gave the cause of death as ‘severe blunt trauma to the head’. Dr Singh also opined that the deceased was dead before the fire. Body samples were taken for DNA testing.