Trio sentenced to 35 years each for strangling 82-year-old woman

More than five years after a brutal robbery ended the life of a defenceless elderly woman, the wheels of justice have finally turned for the family of 82-year-old Berbice pensioner Chandarie Budhoo, who was killed in 2020.
On Friday, sitting at the Berbice High Court, Justice Sandil Kissoon sentenced three men—Dhannyram Ramdhanny, 35; Kumar Bhagwandin, 29; and Narvindra Chillu, 25—to 35 years’ imprisonment each after they were found guilty of her murder.
All three are from the East Berbice-Corentyne area.

Ms Budhoo was attacked at her Tain Settlement home during a robbery carried out between 16 and 17 June 2020.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that the elderly woman put up a struggle as the intruders carried out their crime.
An autopsy later confirmed that she died from asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation and sustained blunt force trauma to the head, highlighting the violence of the attack.
The State’s case was led by Attorney-at-Law Cicela Corbin and relied heavily on the testimony of a former co-accused, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime.

After later turning State witness, he admitted to helping plan the robbery and testified that the three now-convicted men were responsible for killing the pensioner.
Despite maintaining their innocence throughout the trial and pleading not guilty, the defence put forward by Ramdhanny, Bhagwandin, and Chillu was ultimately rejected.
Ramdhanny and Bhagwandin were represented by Attorney Kevin Morgan, while Chillu was represented by Attorneys Vinay Punwa and Chandra Sohan.
In early December 2025, a 12-member jury unanimously returned guilty verdicts against all three men, bringing the case to its long-awaited conclusion.