Thirty-five-year-old Melisha Cylus is set to face a jury trial before Justice Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the High Court in Demerara, more than six years after her common-law husband, Julian Anthony Reberio, was found dead at their Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara home.
Cylus, who is charged with manslaughter in connection with Reberio’s death, formally pleaded not guilty when she appeared in court on June 3, 2025.
Her trial is scheduled to begin on June 5, 2025. She is being represented by attorneys Travis Ferreira and Yuborn Allicock, while the prosecution is led by State Counsel Marisa Edwards, along with Praneta Seeraj and Mtumika Lumumba.
The charge stems from an incident that occurred on May 13, 2018, when Reberio, 32, reportedly died following a domestic altercation.
At the time, Cylus was five months pregnant. Following her initial appearance before the courts in 2018, she was granted $200,000 bail.
Due to the nature of the indictable offence, she was not required to plead at that stage.
According to police reports, Reberio’s death was ruled a homicide after a post-mortem examination revealed he died from asphyxiation caused by compression injuries to the neck – findings consistent with strangulation.
As the long-delayed trial prepares to get underway, the court is expected to hear testimony from key witnesses and examine the circumstances that led to Reberio’s fatal injuries.
