Man charged with transporting and burying body of Georgetown labourer

A third man has been charged in connection with the murder of a 27 year old labourer of Georgetown whose body was found in pieces in a pit in the Morne Garu mountain near Georgetown.
Lisroy Bacchus of Chilli Village, Georgetown, 33, appeared at the Serious Offences Court on March 8, charged with assisting with the murder of Sheldon Welch.

Bacchus is the cousin of Javid DaSilva, who was charged with the murder of Sheldon Welch on Monday, March 6.

He is charged that on March 2, knowing or believing that Javid Dasilva and a minor, both of Georgetown having committed the offence of murder or some other relevant offence on Sheldon Welch of Georgetown, did without lawful authority or reasonable excuse assist the said Javid DaSilva and a minor by transporting the body of Sheldon Welch to Morne Garu Mountain and burying him with intent to impede the apprehension or prosecution of the said Javid Dasilva and a minor.

The accused is being represented by counsel, Grant Connell. He was not required to plea to the indictable charge.

Prosecutor station sergeant Renrick Cato did not object to bail and asked the court for sufficient surety. These are surrendering of travel documents, reporting conditions, and placement of stop notices at ports of entry and exit.

Chief Magistrate, Rechanne Browne at first granted bail in the sum of $20,000. However, counsel Connell made it clear that he had no intention to waste the court’s time and asked for a paper committal. He said that he will be ready for paper committal next week, once the prosecution can serve the documents by the end of this week. As a result, Connell requested a reduction in the bail amount.

The prosecutor said he was uncertain whether he could have paper committal next week as the file was not yet ready.

He said if a paper committal is done in the matter at the Serious Offences Court, the preliminary inquiry into the murder charge concerning two other defendants will have to move to another court. Nevertheless, he did not have a problem with the paper committal once the file is ready.

Cato also highlighted that the maximum penalty that one can face for such an offence is 10 years imprisonment.

The chief magistrate granted bail in the sum of $20,000.00 with one surety. Bacchus is ordered to report to the Georgetown police station on Mondays and Thursdays between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. He also has to surrender his travel documents and obtain permission to leave the state. In addition, stop notices were ordered placed at ports of entry and exit.

No one was present to sign as surety for the defendant on Wednesday. As a result, he was remanded into custody.

The matter is adjourned to March 27 for paper committal.

On Monday, March 6, Dasilva, the 22 year old brother of the deceased, and a 15 year old, both of Georgetown were jointly charged for the murder of Welch; they appeared for arraignment at the Serious Offences Court.

They are charged that on March 2, at Georgetown with malice aforethought they caused the death of Sheldon Welch of Caratal, Georgetown by an unlawful act.

They were not required to plea to the indictable charge and the men are remanded into custody. Due to the age of the 15 year old, he is not being kept at His majesty’s Prison.

The matter is adjourned to April 18 for the commencement of a preliminary inquiry, and the prosecution had indicated they will be calling 15 witnesses.

The body parts of Welch were discovered in a pit in the Morne Garu mountains near Georgetown late on Friday, March 3.

The alarm was raised on Friday morning after the 27 year old man, also known as “Butters” went missing, and a blood stained sheet and clothing were found at his home.