Jury finds accused men guilty of killing Henry cousins

Two men were found guilty on Tuesday for the brutal killings of cousins Joel Henry and Isaiah Henry.

Charged with the murders are Akash Singh, called “Monkey,” of Zeelugt Squatting Area, East Bank Essequibo; his stepbrother, Anil Sancharra, called “Dan Pole” and “Rasta,” of D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice; and Vinod Gopaul, called “Magga,” of Yakusari, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne.

The trio is accused of murdering the teenage cousins between September 5 and September 6, 2020, at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice.

When the matter came before Justice Simone Morris at the Berbice High Court, only Sancharra and Gopaul were called upon to stand trial. Singh was admitted as the prosecution’s main witness.

During the trial before a 12-member jury, State Prosecutor Marisa Edwards called approximately 45 witnesses, including Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh, 16 police officers, and relatives of the deceased teenagers.

Earlier in the proceedings, Akash Singh testified that he, Sancharra, and Gopaul killed Joel and Isaiah after the teenagers allegedly discovered a marijuana farm in the backlands that had been sprayed.
However, when they took the stand, both Sancharra and Gopaul denied any involvement in the murders and rejected Singh’s testimony.

Sancharra maintained that he was never at the crime scene and insisted that Singh fabricated the allegations against him. During cross-examination, he repeatedly denied being in the West Coast Berbice backlands at the time of the killings and refuted claims linking him to a marijuana camp in the area.

Sancharra also challenged the prosecution’s suggestions that Singh implicated him because he witnessed the murders, arguing instead that the witness was not telling the truth.

Gopaul, meanwhile, testified that he was in police custody on a separate firearm-related matter on September 5, 2020. He told the court that he remained detained until September 11 and therefore could not have been at the Cotton Tree backlands when the murders occurred.

Gopaul further denied Singh’s allegations, including claims that he instructed anyone to dispose of weapons. Gopaul said he first learned of the murders in January 2021 when he was arrested by police and soldiers.

On Tuesday, Gopaul and Sancharra seemed composed as Justice Morris spoke to the jury, reminding them to base their decision solely on the evidence presented in court.

After deliberating for over two hours, the jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict for the murders of the cousins.

When the verdict was announced, Sancharra was overcome with emotion and began to cry, while Gopaul looked visibly upset.

Justice Morris then ordered psychiatric and prohibition reports for both defendants.

Outside the courtroom, Sancharra expressed his frustration, saying,” the police beat Akash Singh fuh come lie on me and them nah put he in jail and them bringing me in jail.”

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 26, 2026.

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