Kebra Duncan has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the 2019 killing of 23-year-old Edino Jose, following his guilty plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
The sentence was recently handed down by Justice Nareshwar Harnanan at the High Court in Demerara.
Duncan was first charged with murder but pleaded down to manslaughter to escape a complete trial. The killing occurred on September 15, 2019, during a bloody fight between the two men.
According to the prosecution, led by State Counsel Praneta Seeraj, Abiola Lowe, and Mtumika Lumumba, the confrontation escalated after Duncan claimed that Jose attacked him with a broken beer bottle.
Duncan retaliated by throwing a brick at Jose and striking him with a cutlass. Jose leaped into a trench amidst the scuffle. Duncan brought him out later, left his body on the embankment, and escaped from there.
The body of Jose was found by a passerby on the same day, and a police report was made.
Duncan was later found and was reported to have confessed to the murder in a written statement.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that Jose died from multiple blunt force injuries and asphyxiation due to drowning.
Defence attorneys Tonza Sarrabo and Jed Vasconcellos represented Duncan.
The court considered his guilty plea, cooperation with investigators, and expression of remorse before imposing the seven-year sentence.
