Seventy-Two Murder Charges in Guyana’s MV Barima Disaster

The tragedy aboard Guyana’s MV Barima has moved from heartbreak to homicide charges. Today, authorities charged the vessel’s captain, Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Roberts, and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson with seventy-two counts of murder, one count for each body recovered after the disaster. The case has gripped the Caribbean and drawn international attention, with reports now pointing to a commission of inquiry into what went wrong. Representing the three accused men is attorney Dexter Todd, a name familiar to Belizeans as the former attorney for William “Danny” Mason. Here is what Todd told Guyana’s News Room.

 

Dexter Todd, Attorney-at-law

“The police have done what the Commission of Inquiry is suppose to do. And they have already come to a definitive conclusion on this matter. An early disclosure, this matter was heard before the chief magistrate. It was transferred to the charity court, where it will be before the substantive magistrate, because that is the jurisdictional court. And we have asked for early disclosure on the matter, which I believe is on the third of August, because we intend to make preliminary legal arguments in relation to this matter. This is completely unfair and an injustice, because the complexity of this matter could not, you could not complete an investigation in terms of the complexity of this matter in such a short time. There is a number of parts that you need to pull together in the investigation of this matter. That is why there is a COI.”

 

Todd argues that Captain Price would have been one of the primary subjects to speak during the commission of inquiry. But he is now imprisoned.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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