By| Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News|
JURY FINDS TWO GUILTY OF GRUESOME 2020 MURDERS OF HENRY COUSINS; DEFENSE SLAMS STAR WITNESS
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Nearly six years after a horrific crime wave sent shockwaves through the nation, a 12-member jury has unanimously found Anil Sancharra and Vinod Gopaul guilty of the gruesome murders of teenage cousins Joel and Isaiah Henry.
The unanimous verdict was handed down on Tuesday afternoon following more than two hours of jury deliberations at the High Court. The high-profile trial spanned several weeks and featured testimony from more than 40 witnesses, culminating in convictions for the murders that occurred between September 5 and 6, 2020, in the backlands of Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice.
The State’s successful prosecution relied heavily on the pivotal testimony of Akash Singh, a co-accused who was initially charged alongside Sancharra and Gopaul before turning state witness. Singh testified that the two teenagers were slaughtered after accidentally stumbling upon a hidden marijuana cultivation plot in the Berbice backlands.
Throughout the proceedings, both Sancharra and Gopaul maintained their innocence, completely denying any involvement in the killings and claiming that Singh fabricated the entire narrative to secure his own legal immunity.
Prominent defense attorney Dexter Todd, who represented the convicted men, spoke out strongly against the verdict, raising serious concerns regarding the credibility of the prosecution’s star witness and the state’s management of the case.
“Why go to the extent to separate [and] cover this particular witness until this case is over? Something is wrong,” Todd argued, questioning the insular handling of Singh by law enforcement.
Todd further stated that the defense remains deeply troubled by the structural consistency of the prosecution’s evidence and signaled that they are already exploring grounds for an appeal. “The government advanced through the Police Force a particular narrative, which I will say I do not believe,” Todd added.
Presiding Judge Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall has ordered comprehensive psychiatric evaluations and social probation reports for both Sancharra and Gopaul prior to handing down punishments. Sentence presentation has been formally scheduled for June 26, 2026.
The initial discovery of the mutilated bodies of Joel and Isaiah Henry in September 2020 sparked unprecedented civil outrage across Guyana, resulting in weeks of intense protests, blockaded roadways, and volatile racial unrest along the West Coast Berbice corridor.
