AKEEM Fraser, 31, of Meadow Brook Gardens, Georgetown, was remanded to prison on Friday after being charged with the murder of transgender sex worker, Shawn Anthony Simon.
The charge was read by Principal Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. Fraser, who was not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge, was ordered to remain in custody until his next court appearance on Monday, July 22, 2024.
The police have identified Fraser as one of two suspects in connection with Simon’s murder.

The other suspect, 23-year-old Shaggy Mohamed, is already in custody at Lusignan Prison on an unrelated robbery charge. Due to Mohamed’s absence in court on Friday, the murder charge will be formally read to him at the next hearing on Monday.
The murder of Shawn Anthony Simon, 28, from Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD), occurred in the early hours of Thursday, July 11, 2024. According to police reports, the incident took place around 02:00hrs at the intersection of King Street and South Road, Georgetown.

On the night of the murder, Simon was standing with a 26-year-old male companion from West La Penitence Housing Scheme, Georgetown.  A heavily tinted silver Toyota Premio motorcar approached from Croal Street, Georgetown, and several gunshots were fired from the vehicle.

As gunfire erupted, Simon, and his friend fled east onto South Road, where Simon eventually collapsed. The car sped away north on King Street and disappeared from the scene.
Responding detectives found Simon face-down in a pool of blood, dressed in a black dress, a black shower cap, and black socks. Dr. Harry Kissoon from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) pronounced Simon dead at the scene.
Crime scene investigators discovered what appeared to be a gunshot wound under Simon’s right arm and recovered nine 9-mm shells from the area.

In recent years, Guyana has witnessed a disturbing series of targeted murders against LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly sex workers.
These heinous acts have included the brutal killings of transgender individuals like Noel Wilson Luthers, also known as Nephi, who was shot dead in 2015. Luthers, a 20-year-old transgender sex worker from D’Urban Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, was shot dead at Quamina and Carmichael streets, Georgetown, where he usually carried out his trade.
In June 2017, Andel Forde, also known as “Ron Forde,” was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in connection with Luthers’ death.