Two charged with murder of Kilcoy/Chesney labourer

Two men have been charged with the brutal murder of a Kilcoy/Chesney, Berbice man.

Vishal Deonarine called “Gabbar”, 33, a Fisherman from Lot 67 Kilcoy/Chesney Squatting Area, Corentyne, Berbice and Vishal Vickram called “Max”, 23 of Lot 130 Kilcoy/Chesney Squatting Area were not required to plead to the indictable charge read to them by Magistrate Peter Hugh.

It is alleged that between July 4, 2023, and July 5, 2023, Deonarine and Vickram murdered Leon Aswell Kum, a 29-year-old also of Kilcoy/Chesney Squatting Area.

The case was postponed to July 26, 2023, at the Albion Magistrate Court.

Initial reports detailed that Leon Kum was found dead with blood oozing from his neck just after midnight.

Kum, along with his nephew Michael Ramnarine and Michael’s wife, lived in a zinc shack on a dam in the area. On the night of the murder, Kum opted to sleep in a hammock under a shed nearby to the shack, because “place hot,” said Sattie Ramotar, Ramnarine’s mother-in-law, who lived opposite.

Ramotar said she spent the day (hours before his death) by Kum and the others and went home in the evening. According to her, she was cooking around 01:00 hrs when she heard a knocking on the zinc shack. When she inquired, she saw her son-in-law running after someone on a bicycle.

Ramotar said she ran out of her house and ventured over to the shack where she saw Kum slumped over with blood oozing from his neck.
Four persons were arrested, however, following investigations, two were released and the other two were charged.