Four remanded for murdering Essequibo rice farmers

By Leroy Smith

Four young men were on Tuesday (December 20, 2016) remanded to prison for the murder of Mohamed Munir, age 75 and his wife, Jamilla Munir, age 70 who were robbed and then burnt to death in their home at Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo (E.B.E) earlier this year.

Among the men remanded for the robbery and murder of the couple is Jason Howard called “smelly” who had four other robbery under arms charges and one attempted murder charge read to him earlier by the same magistrate. He is the No.1 accused in the Tower Hotel robbery which occurred on Wednesday, December 14, 2016.

In addition to Jason Howard, the others charged with the murder of the couple are Joel Blair, Sanjay George called “Coolie Boy”, and Shamadeen Mohamed called “Milo”.

In April this year, the suspects entered the home of the deceased in search of $20M which one of the accused told the others, were hidden in the home.

According to reports, after he was arrested for the robbery of an Accountant attached to the Tower Hotel on Wednesday last, Howard confessed to the crime and implicated the others.

He reportedly told investigators that on the night of the attack, the suspects entered the couple’s premises and began to ransack the house. The couple heard the commotion and raised an alarm, however, they refused to exit their bedroom which was tightly shut. This agitated one of the suspects who then set a sofa alight and tossed a fuel cylinder near the burning sofa. The couple remained trapped in their bedroom of the heavily grilled house where they perished.

The four will spend their Christmas in Jail and return to court on January 15 when they will appear before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennon.

The police are still hunting for a taxi driver who took the suspects to the location.