–pathologist highlights violent nature of killings, suffering endured by the victims

THE trial into the murders of cousins Joel Henry and Isaiah Henry continued in the High Court in Berbice, where the main witness claimed the men accused of the crime attempted to force him to lie to investigators.
The jury heard chilling testimony detailing the horrific injuries both teenagers sustained during the brutal attack that shocked the nation in September 2020.
The two accused on trial before Justice Simone Morris Ramlall are Anil Sancharra, also known as “Dan Pole” and “Rasta,” of D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice, and Vinod Gopaul, also known as “Magga,” of Yakusari, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne.
During the proceedings thus far, evidence presented before the court described the severe wounds inflicted on the two cousins, whose bodies were discovered in the backlands of West Coast Berbice.
Medical testimony from pathologist Nehaul Singh outlined multiple traumatic injuries, highlighting the violent nature of the killings and the suffering endured by the victims prior to their deaths.
The court also heard further accounts from witnesses and investigators as the state prosecutor continued to build the case against the accused.
The main witness, Akash Singh, continued his testimony in court on Wednesday, claiming that the two accused men coerced him to falsely tell investigators that police had beaten him. The court also heard evidence from a police sergeant as well.
The State’s case is being presented by prosecutor Marisa Edwards, while attorneys-at-law Dr. Dexter Todd and Chandra Sohan are representing the accused men.
Singh, who was initially charged in connection with the murders, had later turned state witness for the prosecution.
On Tuesday, he testified that he had accompanied the accused men into the backdam where marijuana was being cultivated and claimed he witnessed the chopping deaths of the two cousins.
He also previously told the court that after the killings, the bodies were tied and placed onto a horse and that Gopaul instructed him to mark an ‘X’ on the foreheads of the two teenagers before the bodies were removed.
Singh further testified that after the incident, he informed his sister and two other persons about what had happened, but they did not believe him.
Singh, during the cross examination, was intensely challenged by attorney Todd for several aspects of his version of events.
However, Singh maintained that he accompanied the accused men into the Cotton Tree backdam to plant marijuana and recalled carrying fertiliser and food items into the area on previous occasions.
He denied repeated suggestions from the attorney that he fabricated his story or that police investigators had beaten him into giving statements.
In fact, Singh said that while in prison the accused men instructed him to falsely tell investigators that police had assaulted him.
Additionally, Singh said that he is fearful for his life because of what he claimed he had witnessed the accused do.
Meanwhile, attorney Sohan questioned Singh about his appearance while being in prison, making the suggestion that since he had long hair, he was instead hiding elsewhere.
However, Singh denied this suggestion and said prisoners were allowed to keep long hair.
“I come out from prison to talk the truth,” the witness asserted.
Additionally, Singh pointed out that no charges against him had been dropped and denied receiving promises from investigators in exchange for his testimony.
He further claimed that he had also showed police where the cutlasses had allegedly been thrown but investigators were unable to locate them. On Wednesday, the state also called Sergeant Rodwell Sarrabo to the witness stand.