HGP Nightly News – The murder case involving 20-year-old Shonnette Dover has moved into its final stage, with the High Court now preparing to determine the sentence to be imposed on Shaquawn Alleyne, also known as “IsWe.”
Alleyne appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to murdering Dover in 2021.
His admission means the case will no longer proceed to trial. Instead, the court will now focus on punishment.
Sentencing has been fixed for June 17.
Before that date, the judge has ordered several reports to help guide the court’s decision. These include a psychiatric evaluation, a probation report, and a report from the Guyana Prison Service on Alleyne’s conduct while in custody.
Those reports are expected to give the court a fuller picture of Alleyne’s mental state, personal circumstances, background, and behaviour since being placed on remand.
The prosecution is also expected to place before the court any aggravating factors, while the defence will be allowed to present mitigating factors in Alleyne’s favour.
Dover’s killing had drawn national attention after her decomposing body was found on April 30, 2021, in a shallow grave in the backyard of Alleyne’s home at Canvas City, Wismar, Linden.
She had been missing for nearly a month before the discovery.
A post-mortem examination later found that she died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
After Dover’s death, Alleyne fled Guyana and remained out of the country for almost three years. He was arrested in Suriname in 2024 and later handed over to Guyanese authorities.
Investigators had also reported that a 15-year-old relative of Dover admitted to helping Alleyne bury the body. The teenager later directed police to the burial site and was charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder.
With Alleyne’s guilty plea now entered, the court’s attention shifts to the sentence he will receive for the killing.
Justice Kissoon is expected to consider the nature of the offence, the way Dover died, the impact of the crime on her relatives, Alleyne’s guilty plea, his time on remand, and the reports ordered by the court before deciding the penalty.
