Sunil Ally last week pleaded guilty to the 2019 murder of cash crop and poultry farmer, Deoprakash Lalbachan, also known as ‘Deo’ and ‘Williams,’ of Lot 22 Grant 1651, Crabwood Creek.
Ally on Thursday entered his plea at the High Court in Berbice before Justice Sandil Kissoon. He will return to court on November 27th, for sentencing.
The state was represented by Attorney at Law, Muntaz Ali while the accused was represented by Attorney at Law, Tuanna Hardy.
In February, 2019, Lalbachan, 59, was fatally stabbed during a suspected robbery at his Crabwood Creek residence. His widow, Nalinie Lalbachan had said that she was in the upper flat of her house, while her husband, a father of three, was in the lower flat when the fatal attack occurred, sometime around 10.30 pm.
She stated that Deoprakash was watching television and she assumed that he had fallen asleep. However, minutes to 11 p.m., she heard him shout, “Nalinie! Come here! Them want to kill me! Them a bore me!” She said she thought her husband was having a nightmare, but after rushing downstairs, she saw that he was bleeding from his abdomen. “When me went to am, he say, ‘Them come! Them come for kill me!’ And that’s all.”
The woman recounted that she placed her husband to lie on the floor and alerted other residents, who assisted her in rushing him to the Skeldon Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to Nalinie, her husband, to whom she was married for 37 years, did not have any issues with anyone, and was a quiet, easygoing, kindhearted and helpful man.
“I didn’t see anything missing so far but my husband usually have his money and stuff in the drawer downstairs but there is nothing…I don’t know if they went by the drawer and that where he grab them or wah,” she stated.
She also noted that her husband was not able to give any details of the attack before his passing, as she found him just as he collapsed in the kitchen next to the cupboard.
A police source in 2019 had told Stabroek News that they were investigating the matter as a possible robbery since several bags filled with items from a fridge were found at the rear of Lalbachan’s house.
The source had said that according to their investigation, it is possible that it could have been a “kitchen thief” who was confronted and panicked. He theorized that the thief had broken into the kitchen through a window and was then confronted by Lalbachan, who was still in the kitchen at that time.
According to the source, the murder weapon, a knife, was discovered at the scene of the crime.
