Cattle farmer, Bharrat Ramsaywack was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years for the brutal 2017 killing of his employee over a missing goat.
Ramsaywack, 50, of Number 55 Village Corentyne Berbice was sentenced by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Berbice High Court for the offence of murder.
During his trial last month, Ramsaywack opted to plead guilty and confessed to killing 21-year-old Mahendra Ghanie between October 02 and 06, 2017, at Number 55 Village.
At the sentencing hearing, the court heard from a probation officer that the “senseless killing” caused unnecessary trauma and grief to the victim’s family.
Persons from Ramsaywack’s community labelled him as a “bad character” since his behaviour was “unpleasant.”
Ghanie’s parents and brother gave their victim impact statement in court and expressed their disappointment in the judicial system.
The victim’s mother recalled how Ramsaywack killed her son and chopped him up “like fish meat” before burying him.
“Since my son’s death, I’m not feeling good. I always getting high pressure. I really miss my son, Mahendra….Day and night I does cry for my son,” the victim’s father said in his statement.
Ramsaywack’s attorney, Latchmie Rahamat in her submissions to the court said that her client is the prime candidate for rehabilitation since he teaches other inmates the block-making trade behind bars.
The defence called three character witnesses, who said that while they don’t condone his actions, begged for a second chance because he could offer more to society.
The Judge, however, said that she was not impressed with Ramsaywack’s character witnesses since there is nothing in his personal history that excuses his conduct for taking a life. She also highlighted Ramsaywack’s lack of genuine remorse.
“In my view, a person who treats a fellow human being in the manner in which this accused treated the deceased, ought to be deprived of the right to interact with other members of society, for an indefinite period,” Justice Ramlall said.
She emphasised that such a heinous crime warrants a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The Judge said that Ramsaywack’s decision to take a plea was “tactical” after he heard the evidence before the court.
Ramsaywack’s 22-year-old son and their worker, Mohanlall Sewsankar were indicted for accessory after the fact.
However, his son and accomplice were freed of the crime due to insufficient evidence. According to reports, Ghanie left his home on October 2, 2017, after he was contacted by his employer, Ramsaywack.
Ramsaywack became annoyed after confronting Ghanie about stealing the goat, which Ghanie denied.
He then hit Ghanie in the head with a piece of wood and beat him to the back of his head and foot, causing him to fall on his face.
Ghanie was then tied up with a piece of rope and dragged into the yard behind Ramsaywack’s house.
Ramsaywack and others lit a fire using coconut branches, shells, and kerosene and dumped Ghanie’s body into it. The next day, Ramsaywack noticed that Ghanie’s body was not completely burnt, so he rekindled the fire.
On October 5, 2017, Ghanie’s mother went to Ramsaywack’s home in search of her son, when she observed the accused acting in a suspicious manner.
Ramsaywack was arrested that same day and admitted to the crime. He took the Police to the area where some of Ghanie’s bones were found.
