Two Guilty, One Not Guilty for Bartica Massacre

The two who were found guilty have both been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder convictions, while the Prosecution has already indicated to the court that the state will be appealing the not guilty verdicts that were handed down for the third accused, Roger Simon.

Two Guilty, One Not Guilty for Bartica Massacre

Two of the accused in the Bartica Massacre case were late Thursday night found guilty of seven counts of murder and five counts of manslaughter, while the third accused was found not guilty on all 12 counts of murder.

It took the jury just over three hours to return with the verdicts that Mark Royden aka Durant and Dennis Williams aka Anaconda were guilty on the seven murder counts and five counts of manslaughter and Roger Simon was not guilty on the 12 murder charges.

The two who were found guilty have both been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder convictions, while the Prosecution has already indicated to the court that the state will be appealing the not guilty verdicts that were handed down for the third accused, Roger Simon.

Simon had always indicated that he was nowhere near the massacre and was not present during the blood bath. Evidence presented by his Attorney, Peter Hugh, including statements from the other two men, appeared to have supported his contention.

Additionally, Simon is facing several other charges in the court.

The charges against the three men stemmed from the 2008 gunning down of 12 persons in the Essequibo town of Bartica.

The murders which appeared random sent chills throughout the country as family members found themselves emotionally drained as they recovered from the shock.

The gunmen used high powered assault rifles and the rampage went on for over half an hour. It was one of the deadliest days in Bartica.

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