Corriverton man jailed for eight years for killing wife

A man who found his wife making love to another man and killed her in the process was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by Justice Claudette La Bennett at the Berbice Assizes yesterday.

Balkisson Jagram, 46, of Lot 99 Alexander Street, Rampoor, Corriverton, Berbice, had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter which was accepted by the state.

State Counsel Ganesh Hira, related to the court that on January 14, 2004 Jagram had retired to bed with his wife Nankumarie  Latchan. He awakened some hours later and discovered her missing from their bedroom.

He thought she had gone to use the bathroom facilities, but did not find her on checking there.

Reading from a caution statement submitted by the accused, Hira said Jagram opened the backdoor to his home, then situated at Number 54 Village Corentyne, and on venturing outside, saw his wife making love with a man on a water tank in their yard.

“I asked her what wickedness she doing, and the man she was with fired a lash at me causing me to sustain a injury over my right eye. I picked up a piece of firewood which was nearby with the intention to lash him, but my wife pushed the man away and the wood connected with her head. She fell. I left her there and went to Suriname,” the statement said.

A post-mortem examination conducted by Government Pathologist Dr Vivikanand Brijmohan had revealed that the cause of Latchan’s death was cerebral haemorrhage and a fractured skull.

In a plea for mitigation, Jagram’s lawyer Johaswir Misir said his client has had limited education and worked temporarily as a farmer and labourer. He has two children, both of whom are minors, the lawyer said. He said his client had reflected on his actions during his period of incarceration and asked that justice be tempered with mercy.

Justice La Bennett, imposing the sentence, told the prisoner that just as he had packed his bags and fled to Suriname after the incident, he could have done that earlier when there were signs of infidelity.