— Guilty pleas, acquittals, jury convictions & discontinued cases dominate proceedings
THE October 2025 Criminal Assizes for Demerara concluded the year with a complex mix of guilty pleas, jury convictions, acquittals, and matters discontinued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The Demerara Assizes commenced on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at the High Court in Demerara. A total of 143 cases were listed to be heard before Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh, Justice Gino Persaud, Justice Damone Younge, and Justice Jacqueline Josiah-Graham.
During the course of these proceedings, the State successfully disposed of 36 cases. Of these, 24 were presented before judge and jury in the High Court. The matters involved a broad spectrum of serious offences, including 19 for murder, two for attempted murder, one for manslaughter, and two for sexual offences.
Twelve matters were discontinued by the DPP, a decision often prompted by the unavailability of key witnesses, complainants declining to testify, or, in one case, the death of a principal witness. Across the Assizes, a total of 26 accused persons were involved. The outcomes included 16 guilty pleas, three convictions, five formal not-guilty verdicts, and one jury acquittal.
State prosecutors Simran Gajraj, Christopher Belfield, and Geneva Wills were instrumental in completing 12 matters before Acting Chief Justice Singh. Nine of these were for the offence of murder, while one each concerned manslaughter, attempted murder, and the rape of a child under 16 years.
In eight of the murder trials, the accused pleaded guilty. Three accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter; one received a seven-year sentence, while the other two were each sentenced to five years after the court considered deductions for time spent on remand and their guilty pleas.
In a separate trial involving two accused indicted together for murder in the furtherance of robbery, the court handed down respective sentences of 20 and 27 years imprisonment. Additional murder trials concluded with varied sentencing outcomes, including life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 28 years, as well as terms of 15, 18, and 24 years.
In another matter, the trial judge upheld a no-case submission and directed the jury to return formal not-guilty verdicts for an accused indicted for murder with alternative counts for attempted murder and felonious wounding. Similarly, in one attempted murder trial, the complainant declined to proceed, resulting in a not-guilty verdict.
Manslaughter and sexual offence trials in Demerara also progressed during the Assizes. In the manslaughter matter, the accused pleaded guilty as charged and will be sentenced on January 12, 2026. In a sexual offence case, the jury found the accused guilty, with sentencing scheduled for January 21, 2026.
Justice Gino Persaud presided over five murder trials. In three, the accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter; one is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2026, while the other two await sentencing on January 26, 2026. The remaining two trials before Justice Persaud were concluded through no-case submissions upheld by the trial judge, resulting in not-guilty verdicts. Attorneys Padma Dubraj, Praneta Seeraj, and Alvaro Ramotar represented the State in matters heard before Justice Persaud.
Justice Jacqueline Josiah-Graham oversaw six matters, comprising five murder trials and one attempted murder with an alternative count of wounding with intent. In three of the murder trials, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, receiving sentences ranging from 25 years, 15 years and 8 months and 12 years imprisonment.
One of the remaining murder trials resulted in a unanimous jury finding of guilt for manslaughter, with the accused sentenced to 18 years. Another accused was acquitted by jury verdict. In the attempted murder matter, the accused was found unanimously guilty and awaits sentencing in January 2026.
Due to the exigencies of duties, only one sexual offence trial could be conducted in the Sexual Offences Court. In this instance, the complainant declined to testify, and the jury returned a formal not-guilty verdict. Attorneys Latifah Elliot, Delon Fraser and Nelissa Peterkin appeared for the prosecution in this case.
Of the 12 matters discontinued by the DPP in Demerara, two were for murder, three for attempted murder, four for sexual offences, two for manslaughter, and one for obtaining money by false pretence. The complainants in these matters either declined to testify or could not be located and their testimony was the main evidence in the cases; in one case the main witness has since died.
The Demerara January 2026 Criminal Assizes will open on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, with 126 cases listed to be heard before Justice Singh, Justice Persaud, Justice Simone Morris and Justice Hessaun Yasin.
