Five and a half years after the gruesome murder of 16-year-old Isiah Henry and 18-year-old Joel Henry in the Cotton Tree Backdam in Berbice, two Berbice men, Vinod Gopaul and Anil Sancharra were today found guilty of the double murder.
A 12-member jury returned the guilty verdict this afternoon in the Berbice High Court hours after the case was handed over to them.
During their deliberations, members of the jury emerged once to seek clarification and direction in the matter, and later returned with the guilty verdict.
The two men were committed to stand a High Court trial for the double murder in 2022 after the Magistrates’ Court determined that there was sufficient evidence against them.
The High Court trial began in early May and and continued for five weeks with more than 20 witnesses being called.
During the trial, the jury heard that the two teens were attacked and murdered on the 6th September 2020 after stumbling across a marijuana farm.
Although the two men who were on trial repeatedly claimed that they were innocent, there was mounting evidence against them provided by a key witness who tied them directly to the murders.
That witness, Akash Singh is the step brother of one of the two men who were on trial. He is also facing charges in relation to the same murder.
During his testimony to the Court, he explained that he was in the Backdam along with the other two men when they realised that there was some damage to their marijuana farm and it had been sprayed. The two teens were noticed in a nearby area and were questioned by the men about the damages to the farm.
The Court heard that after the teens denied any involvement, the three men armed themselves with cutlasses and repeatedly chopped the teenage cousins across their bodies. The main witness testified that he was also instructed to mark their bodies by cutting an “X” to their backs. The lifeless bodies of the teens were then tied together and dragged by the men on their horses in the backdam and later dumped.
The two teenage cousins, Joel and Isiah Henry were discovered dead and mutilated in the Cotton Tree Backdam in the West Coast Berbice area one day after they went missing. It is believed that they ventured into the backdam to pick coconuts when they were accosted by the men about the damage to the marijuana farm.
A post-mortem examination found that the two teens sustained multiple chop wounds and injuries including wounds to their spine and skull.
The double murder led to days of violent protests in the West Berbice area. Another teen believed to be a relative of one of the murder accused was attacked and murdered during that time. Two men, including a relative of one of the Henry boys, are currently on remand after being charged with that murder, which was seen as a retaliation crime.
The Henry Boys murder case came to an end today, five and a half years after the crime. The mothers of both boys passed away even before the trial got started after years of grief.
The two murder convicts will be sentenced on the 26th June, 2026.
Justice Simone Morris presided over the trial.
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