Jury finds trio guilty in 2020 killing of Berbice pensioner

After more than five years, justice moved a step closer for the family of 82-year-old Chandarie Budhoo as a Berbice High Court jury on Tuesday unanimously found three men guilty of her murder, which occurred during a robbery at her Tain Settlement home in 2020.

Those convicted are Dhannyram Ramdhanny, 35, Kumar Bhagwandin, 29, and Narvindra Chillu, 25, all of East Berbice. The verdict was returned by a 12-member jury following a trial that began in early December 2025.

Justice Sandil Kissoon has fixed January 6, 2026, for sentencing.

The court heard that Ms. Budhoo was attacked during a robbery carried out between June 16 and 17, 2020.

Prosecutors relied heavily on the testimony of a former co-accused, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime and later turned state witness.

While admitting his role in planning the robbery, the witness told the court that the three men now convicted were responsible for killing the elderly woman.

An autopsy revealed that the pensioner died from asphyxiation caused by ligature strangulation and sustained blunt force trauma to her head, pointing to a violent struggle inside her home.

Throughout the proceedings, Ramdhanny, Bhagwandin, and Chillu maintained their innocence and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. However, the jury ultimately rejected their defence, finding them guilty as charged.