KEITH Harris, who was previously awaiting retrial for the 2022 murder of his elderly aunt, has been sentenced to 16 years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter.

The 52-year-old appeared before Justice Nareshwar Harnanan at the High Court in Demerara on Wednesday.

He had previously admitted to unlawfully killing 76-year-old Audrey Harris-Hayde, whose lifeless body was discovered on December 2, 2022, at her home on Princes Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown.

Harris was initially indicted for murder but denied that charge and instead accepted responsibility for manslaughter. The court accepted the plea and proceeded to sentencing, taking into account various aggravating and mitigating factors, including Harris’ early admission of guilt.

At the time of her death, Harris-Hayde resided in a two-storey wooden and concrete home with her reputed husband and nephew, the convict. Harris lived on the lower flat of the same building.

On the day of the killing, the elderly woman was reportedly working in her yard with a hammer when Harris approached her with a knife.

She attempted to defend herself by swinging the hammer but missed. Harris then stabbed her in the neck, and the wound was reportedly so severe that the knife pierced through to the other side. After the attack, Harris fled the scene, leaving his aunt bleeding on the ground.

A neighbour later discovered her body and raised the alarm. Harris-Hayde was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police launched an investigation and soon apprehended Harris. He reportedly confessed to the killing during interrogation.