THE high-profile trial of Anil Sancharra and Vinod Gopaul, the two men accused of the 2020 murders of West Coast Berbice cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry, is approaching its final stage, with both defendants maintaining their innocence as attorneys seek to convince the jury ahead of deliberations.
The matter is being heard before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Berbice High Court.
After several weeks of testimonies, the prosecution, led by State Counsel Marisa Edwards, closed its case after calling 16 witnesses, including relatives of the slain teenagers, community members, police investigators, key witness Akash Singh, and government pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh.
Throughout the proceedings, the State sought to establish a chain of evidence through witness testimony from family members, residents, and investigators before relying heavily on the account of Akash Singh, whose evidence forms the foundation of the prosecution’s case.
Among those called to testify was farmer Indeejeet Singh, who told the court he saw Isaiah Henry and another youth pushing a bicycle toward the backdam on the day the cousins disappeared. Isaiah’s father, Gladstone Henry, recounted the desperate search undertaken by relatives and villagers before the bodies of the two teenagers were eventually discovered. Additional testimony came from relatives Winston Henry and Laurce Fullington, who provided evidence concerning the boys’ movements and the events surrounding the search operation.
Medical evidence was presented by Dr Nehaul Singh, who testified that both teenagers died from haemorrhage and shock resulting from multiple chop wounds inflicted with a sharp object. The pathologist’s findings highlighted the brutal nature of the killings and later became a significant component of the prosecution’s argument that the injuries were consistent with the account provided by Akash Singh.
Several police officers also took the witness stand to outline the course of the investigation. Rural Constable Devindra Paradat testified that he arrested Akash Singh and Vinod Gopaul on September 6, 2020, in relation to a firearm matter. Inspector Shane James detailed the arrest of Anil Sancharra in January 2021, while Detective Sergeant Alexie Anys and Sergeant Sheldon Harvey gave evidence regarding interviews, statements, and confrontations conducted during the investigation.
One of the lead investigators, Superintendent Rodwell Sarrabo, faced extensive cross-examination from defence attorneys, who challenged aspects of the investigation, including alleged discrepancies in records, the identification of the crime scene, and the handling of evidence.
However, the State’s case ultimately rested on the testimony of Akash Singh, who told the court he was present in the backlands when the killings occurred.
Singh testified that he had accompanied Sancharra and Gopaul to a marijuana camp in the backdam and that the Henry cousins later encountered the men there. According to Singh, an exchange took place before the teenagers were attacked and killed.
His account became the central issue in the trial, with both the prosecution and defence focusing heavily on whether the jury should accept or reject his version of events.
Following the close of the prosecution’s case, Justice Morris-Ramlall called on the accused to present their defence.
Sancharra took the witness stand and spent two days giving evidence. During cross-examination by State Counsel Edwards, he repeatedly denied being present at the alleged crime scene and rejected Singh’s testimony in its entirety.
“Everything Akash Singh say is lie,” Sancharra told the court when asked about the witness’s evidence.
He further denied allegations that he instructed Singh to dispose of weapons or other evidence and rejected suggestions that he participated in any attack on the teenagers. Sancharra also challenged aspects of Singh’s account, including claims regarding where the witness was living during the relevant period.
Gopaul later testified and similarly denied any involvement in the murders.
He told the court that he had been arrested by Rural Constable Paradat on September 5, 2020, in connection with a firearm matter and remained in police custody until September 11. According to Gopaul, he could not have been involved in the killings because he was already detained when the murders occurred.
Gopaul said he only became aware of the case months later when he was arrested again in January 2021. He denied Singh’s allegations, denied instructing anyone to dispose of weapons, and maintained that he had been wrongly implicated.
During his testimony, Gopaul also alleged that he was assaulted while in police custody and pressured to sign documents, although he acknowledged signing a caution statement.
With the defence evidence completed, attorney Chandra Sohan addressed the jury on behalf of Gopaul.
Sohan argued that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and urged jurors to carefully examine what he described as significant weaknesses in the State’s evidence.
The defence attorney questioned why records relating to Gopaul’s September 2020 detention were not produced and argued that the prosecution had failed to adequately address evidence suggesting his client was already in custody at the time of the murders.
He also pointed to what he described as inconsistencies in Akash Singh’s testimony and highlighted the absence of certain evidence from the preliminary inquiry.
According to Sohan, the jury should exercise caution before relying on the testimony of a witness whose account had changed on important details.
In response, State Counsel Edwards urged the jury to accept Singh’s evidence, arguing that his testimony was corroborated by other witnesses and supported by the medical findings presented during the trial.
She contended that Dr Nehaul Singh’s evidence was consistent with Singh’s description of how the attack was carried out.
Edwards also referred to testimony from Winston Henry, who told the court that Singh approached him after seeing photographs of the murdered teenagers published in a newspaper.
The prosecutor argued that Singh’s account carried credibility because he implicated himself in criminal activity while describing the events and therefore had no reason to falsely accuse the defendants.
She further submitted that while the defence had focused on discrepancies and record-keeping issues, those matters did not undermine the central elements of the prosecution’s case.
Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall is expected to sum up the evidence and provide legal directions to the jury on Tuesday before jurors retire to deliberate and determine the fate of the two accused men in the brutal slaying of the Henry cousins.