HGP Nightly News – A 12-member jury at the Berbice High Court on Tuesday found two men guilty of the murders of cousins Isaiah Henry, 16, and Joel Henry, 19, whose deaths in September 2020 shocked the country and triggered widespread unrest across West Coast Berbice.
After approximately two hours of deliberations, Anil Sanchara, 39, and Vinod Gopaul, 35, were each convicted on two counts of murder, bringing to a close a case that had gripped Guyana for nearly six years.
The trial commenced on May 6, 2026, and ran for just over a month. It was presided over by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, with the prosecution led by State Counsel Marisa Edwards and the defence by attorney Dexter Todd. Approximately 20 witnesses testified for the prosecution over the course of the proceedings.
Earlier on Tuesday, Justice Morris-Ramlall completed her summation of the evidence before the jury retired to deliberate.
Both men, who maintained their innocence throughout the trial, were convicted of murdering the two cousins between September 5 and 6, 2020, at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice. Sanchara, of D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice, is known by the nickname ‘Magga’, while Gopaul, of Yakasari, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, Berbice, is known as ‘Dan Pole’ and ‘Rasta’.
The case against both men was significantly shaped by the testimony of Akash Singh, 25, a self-confessed accomplice and the brother of Sanchara, who was arrested alongside the two convicted men in January 2021. When Singh took the stand on May 13, he provided a detailed account of the events leading up to and including the killings.
He told the court that he, Sanchara and Gopaul had planted a marijuana farm in the backdam at Cotton Tree in August 2020, and that when they returned three weeks later the crop had been destroyed by gramoxone. Singh said Gopaul was angered by the discovery and stated that someone would have to pay for it.
According to Singh, Isaiah and Joel arrived at the backdam shortly after and reportedly laughed when Gopaul and Sanchara questioned them about the destroyed farm. Gopaul then chopped one of the boys on the neck, and Sanchara joined in as the two men continued attacking the cousins with cutlasses.
Singh told the court that he was forced to participate under threat of suffering the same fate, and that he was also made to carve the letter ‘x’ onto the body of one of the boys.
The murders prompted violent protests and rioting across West Coast Berbice and gave rise to a coordinated national movement calling for justice for the two cousins. Tuesday’s verdict, delivered nearly six years after their deaths, marks the conclusion of that long legal process.
Photo Credit: Kaieteur News
