Man who murdered wife, buried her in shallow grave sentenced to 24 years imprisonment

Ryan Sugrim, the man who murdered his ex-wife Zalia Sugrim in 2019 was Tuesday sentenced to 24 years imprisonment.

Sugrim appeared before Justice Damone Young at the Demerara High Court. Last month, he pleaded guilty to the crime.

The body of 37-year-old Zaila Sugrim was found in a garden inside the compound of the Shell Gas Station at Crane on the West Coast of Demerara where Sugrim worked.

The woman was shot to the head, burnt and then buried in the shallow grave.

Before she was found, relatives had reported her missing.

She was last seen with her ex-husband, Ryan Sugrim on Saturday, May 11. He was subseqently arrested.

A year before, relatives said then, the woman finally broke free from an abusive relationship she shared with Sugrim for 15 years. Together, they had five children.

Zaila’s sister-in-law Nazeema Bacchus, speaking with the News Room in 2019, said the man kept her away from her family and it was up until eight months ago that she escaped from his grips with three of their children from their La Grange, West Bank Demerara home.