Daniel Watson, the 40-year-old man who murdered his reputed wife, Lowtie Atwaroo in 2018 was on Thursday sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.
Watson appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon to answer for the capital offence of murder but opted to enter a guilty plea for the lesser count of manslaughter. He admitted that on May 21, 2018, at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, he unlawfully killed Atwaroo called ‘Mona’.
The State was represented by prosecutor Lisa Cave while Watson was represented by attorney Teriq Mohammed.
Mohammed, during his plea of mitigation, told the Judge that his client did not intend to waste the court’s time. He said Watson has a good character and is also a model prisoner since he was remanded three years ago.
In his address to the court, Watson begged the victim’s family for forgiveness and the court for a second chance to turn his life around.
Justice Kissoon noted that prior to imposing the sentence, he took into consideration the prevalence of intimate partner violence and the “brutal and gruesome” nature in which the victim was killed.
The News Room had reported that the man reportedly beat and strangled the woman to death in a trench about 50 feet away from their house and later fled the scene.
Reports indicated that the couple lived together for a number of years in a common-law relationship at Plantation Herstelling, however, the woman ended the relationship due to Watson’s abusive behaviour.
She relocated with her father in the same community but on the day in question, she visited Watson and did not return to her father’s house.
Subsequently, neighbours heard a woman screaming and upon checking, they saw Watson on top of the woman in the trench. Watson was later arrested by the police.
