‘I was framed’ – man squeals after found guilty of killing friend in 2019 

Phillip Jhagroo, called ‘Tanky’, was on Monday found guilty of murdering his friend during a drinking spree in 2019 at School Dam, Richmond Hill, Leguan Island.

Jhagroo, formerly of Richmond Hill, was on trial before Justice Brassington Reynolds at the Suddie High Court for the capital offence.

He had denied murdering Mark Narine, known as ‘Marco’, but a 12-member jury, after deliberating for over two hours, found Jhagroo guilty of murder on Monday.

The Judge ordered a psychiatric and probation report to be prepared for Jhagroo’s sentencing on June 27.

“I’m innocent…I was framed and put in jail. I did not kill nobody,” Jhagroo told the court after hearing the verdict.

He was represented by attorney Latchmi Rahamat and the State was represented by prosecutor Tiffini Lyken.

According to reports, the victim and Jhagroo are known to each other and hours before the crime, they were consuming alcohol together.

It is alleged that the men had an argument and on the day in question, Narine was riding his motorcycle along School Dam, when he was lashed off his motorcycle by Jhagroo, who was armed with an object.

Narine was thrown overboard into a nearby trench by Jhagroo. The next day, Narine’s lifeless body was discovered in the trench.

An autopsy confirmed that Narine died from drowning, but he had wounds to his head consistent with being hit with an object.

While on remand, Jhagroo was among three prisoners who escaped from the Lusignan Prison on November 21, 2020.

He was finally recaptured in March 2021, by residents of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo, who caught him stealing from a chicken farm in the area.