Three men have been found guilty of the 2021 murder of 61-year-old Bheim Evans, called “Lio” or “Busta,” while two of their co-accused were acquitted following a jury trial in the High Court.
The jury, after deliberating for almost two hours, returned guilty verdicts against Brian Evans, called “Blackboy,” Ryan Dhanraj and Samuel Vanbrook, called “Chucky,” for murder contrary to common law.
Their co-accused, Leeward Chung, called “Boysie,” and James David, called “Jamsie,” were found not guilty and acquitted.
The five men were jointly tried before Justice Sandil Kissoon for Evans’ death, which occurred on November 13, 2021, at Block D, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice.
The prosecution’s case was that the fatal attack stemmed from an accusation over missing property.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Evans’ son was initially confronted and assaulted and that when Evans arrived at the scene, the violence was subsequently directed at him.
The State argued that the accused men played different roles in the attack and that those found guilty acted together in unlawfully assaulting Evans.
Evans was later found badly injured and semi-conscious and was taken to the Fort Wellington Public Hospital, where he subsequently died.
A post-mortem examination conducted by forensic pathologist Dr V. Brijmohan found extensive injuries, including severe haemorrhaging to the scalp, fractures to the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage, extensive bleeding and fractured ribs, as well as injuries to the lungs.
The cause of death was determined to be multiple injuries.
The prosecution also relied on video evidence recovered during the police investigation. The court heard evidence concerning the recovery and forensic examination of a cellular phone and the extraction of video recordings from the device.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution maintained that regardless of allegations surrounding stolen property, individuals cannot take the law into their own hands, stressing that vigilante justice has no place under the law.
Following the close of evidence and Justice Kissoon’s summation to the jury, the case was handed over for deliberation.
After nearly two hours, the jury returned its verdicts, finding Evans, Dhanraj and Vanbrook guilty of murder, while Chung and David were acquitted.
The prosecution was represented by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Tiffini Lyken and State Counsels Rbina Christmas and Rodley Mathoo.
The three convicted men were remanded pending sentencing.
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