Life imprisonment for pork-knocker who killed, dumped man in metal tank

Noel Rodrigues was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment for the fatal beating of pork-knocker, Shawn McDonald, whose lifeless body was found in a metal tank located at Kurupung, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Rodrigues was on trial before Justice Navindra Singh at the Suddie High Court and pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge, which alleged that between June 18-19, 2016, he unlawfully killed McDonald.

On Tuesday, after deliberating for over two hours, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Rodrigues. The State was represented by the prosecutor, Tiffini Lyken, while Rodrigues represented himself during the trial.

Justice Singh sentenced Rodrigues to life imprisonment and ordered that the prison authority deduct the time he spent on remand from the sentence.

Last Wednesday, Rodrigues’ co-accused, Orin McCurdy, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Prosecutor Lyken told the court that on June 19, 2016, the battered body of McDonald was found in a metal tank with his feet bound. A post-mortem report showed that McDonald sustained multiple injuries, including wounds to the head, a broken shoulder and a deep cut to the mouth that reportedly caused him to suffocate on his own blood.