Twenty-three-year-old Paul Charles of Foulmouth, Essequibo River, was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court over the murder of a 50-year-old boat operator.

Paul Charles

Patricia Williams

Charles, who stood in handcuffs in the dock of the court wearing a distressed expression on his face, was informed by the magistrate that he was not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge of murder.

The matter was later transferred to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court for January 27 next year.

It is alleged that on December 21, at Foulmouth, Essequibo River, he murdered Patricia Williams.

The unrepresented Charles, who declined to say anything, was escorted out of the courtroom by a policeman.

Charles was nabbed by the police on Tuesday night.

Williams’ partly nude body was discovered by residents in a clump of bushes close to a landing, where she was reportedly attacked. A post-mortem report revealed that she had been strangled and also sexually assaulted.

Initial investigations, according to police, revealed that Williams, a part-time boat operator, had transported a group of men including Charles, from Bartica to Foulmouth.