After being sentenced to a total of 100 years in prison for the murder of Danrasie Ganesh, a Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD) pensioner, in February of this year, 26-year-old Collin Allen is now asking the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision made by the High Court to impose the aforementioned sentence on him.
In his appeal, Allen is maintaining that his trial was executed in a biased manner and as such, the number of years given is unreasonable.
However, with the aid of video evidence, State Prosecutors Tuanna Harding, Abigail Gibbs, and Teriq Mohamed had argued that the woman, also known as “Carmen”, lived alone at Lot 121 Montrose, East Coast Demerara, and on the day in question, Allen invaded the property.
He reportedly entered the house through a window after which he attacked the woman. CCTV footage obtained from Ganesh’s home was used as evidence during the trial and revealed a male in the woman’s house hitting her on the head with a tyre wrench, kicking, and stomping her.
Allen later escaped but was apprehended three weeks later. According to a caution statement given by Allen shared in court, he was paid some G$700,000 to kill the pensioner and steal property documents.
Allen, also called “Bonus”, formerly of Cemetery Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, was found guilty of murdering the 77-year-old woman on August 1, 2015, in her East Coast Demerara home.
Following the verdict, Allen’s lawyer, Rachael Bakker, was reportedly left speechless while the convicted murderer maintained his innocence.
With respect to the 100-year sentence, Justice Navindra Singh initially gave 60 years to the accused but added 10 years for premeditation, 10 years for excessive brutality, another 10 for accepting money to kill the woman, and a further 10 years for being brutal to the woman who could have barely walked.
