A 12-member jury was sworn in on Wednesday 6 May 2026 at the High Court in New Amsterdam to hear the case against two men accused of murdering teenage cousins in September 2020.
The high-profile matter is being presided over by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.
On trial are two men, aged 35 and 39, who each face two counts of murder. They appeared virtually before the court and both entered not guilty pleas when the indictments were read.
The prosecution’s case stems from the events of 5 and 6 September 2020, when the cousins, 19-year-old Joel Henry and 16-year-old Isaiah Henry, were reported missing. Their mutilated bodies were later discovered in a backdam area at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice, sparking national outrage and widespread calls for justice.
Attorney-at-law Dexter Todd is representing the accused, while state counsel is leading the prosecution.
The state is expected to call approximately 45 witnesses during the trial, including police ranks, family members of the deceased teens and a forensic pathologist.
The two men were among several individuals initially arrested and remanded in connection with the killings. One of the murder charges was earlier dismissed at the magisterial level for lack of admissible evidence, but the Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently reinstated joint murder charges against the two men, asserting that sufficient evidence existed to proceed to trial.
Proceedings were set to continue on Thursday, when both the prosecution and the defence were expected to begin presenting their respective cases before the jury.
The trial is being closely watched by members of the public, particularly residents of West Coast Berbice, as the court begins the process of determining the fate of the accused in one of the country’s most talked-about criminal cases.
The report was filed for LRTVS Newswatch by Delon Adams.