Carpenter pleads guilty to murder of Williamsburg businessman

A carpenter has pleaded guilty to the murder of a businessman during a robbery in Williamsburg, Corentyne Berbice, in 2023.

On Tuesday afternoon, Satish Ramnaraise, also known as “Chico,” 39, appeared before Justice Deborah Kumar in the Berbice High Court, where he admitted to murdering 79-year-old Akbhar Sain on October 18, 2023, in the furtherance of a robbery.

Ramnaraise, who was represented by Attorney Sasha Roberts, entered a guilty plea to the murder charge.

Under Guyana’s law, Ramnaraise was entitled to a jury trial, during which he would have been presumed innocent and the prosecution required to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. By pleading guilty, however, he waived his right to a trial.

State Prosecutor Marisa Edwards outlined the circumstances of the offence, which occurred at Lot 11 ‘C’, Williamsburg, the location of Sain’s former supermarket. Edwards told the court that Ramnaraise had known Sain for several years prior to the incident.

On the day of the attack, Ramnaraise forcibly broke open the supermarket’s metal and glass door and entered the premises. During a confrontation, Sain struck Ramnaraise on the head with a piece of wood. Ramnaraise then retaliated by striking Sain on the head, causing him to collapse and bleed profusely.

While Sain lay injured, Ramnaraise ransacked the supermarket on the lower floor of the two-storey building, then went upstairs to Sain’s living quarters, where he stole a sum of cash and concealed it in his pants.

The disturbance prompted neighbours to alert the police. When ranks arrived, they found Sain lying in a pool of blood. Edwards said Ramnaraise was shot once by police at the scene and was found in possession of cash following a search. He was subsequently arrested and taken to hospital for treatment, while Sain’s body was removed from the location.

After reviewing the facts, Justice Kumar ruled that there was a sufficient factual basis for the plea and formally accepted Ramnaraise’s guilty plea to the charge of murder.

The court ordered that several documents be submitted by February 25, including a probation report, prison conduct records, statements on aggravating and mitigating factors, a victim impact statement, and written submissions from both the prosecution and the defence.

Sentencing has been set for March 5, and Ramnaraise remains in custody.