50-year-old farmer Alvin Drugean, also known as ‘Alvin Bhola’ and ‘Blacka,’ was sentenced to two consecutive life imprisonment terms without the possibility of parole by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Berbice High Court. This sentencing stems from his admission of guilt in the 2019 double murder case at the Sunsplash Holiday Beach Resort, situated in #63 Village, Corentyne Berbice.
Drugean had pleaded guilty earlier this month to the capital offense, acknowledging his involvement in the killing of 71-year-old Vivekanand Narpatty and his employee, Harry Persaud, between December 19 and December 27, 2019.
During the sentencing hearing, Ebony Narpatty, the daughter of one of the victims, delivered her impact statement remotely from Canada. In her emotional statement, she expressed the trauma, depression, and pain that has plagued her since the tragic incident. She also raised questions about her inability to access her late father’s case file.
Ebony, who possesses a master’s degree in business and extensive police training in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as well as a postgraduate degree in law, expressed her frustration at not being able to access the case file. She stated, “I feel like a major piece is missing from my life and don’t know how to recover from it. Regardless of whatever sentence occurs today, I must repeat that this is a very huge loss towards Guyana, and it should be ashamed of what took place here today.”
However, her strong words and accusations against the State and the Police for conducting a “crooked” investigation and not delivering justice were met with criticism from Justice Kissoon. The judge chastised Ebony for making slanderous and defamatory statements during her victim impact statement and stated that it was unfair to denigrate every department and institution of a nation state while sitting from afar.
Justice Kissoon’s sentencing remarks focused on the gruesome details of the victims’ torture and the extreme cruelty and violence they suffered at the hands of the accused and others. He described the crime as a “murder for hire” and revealed that the accused had stated in his confession that he was hired by the hotel owner’s brother.
The judge highlighted that the police possessed enough information to extradite the suspect responsible for hiring the accused to stand trial in Guyana. Furthermore, he emphasized the brutality and cruelty inflicted on the victims, with evidence indicating that some of the victims’ toes were severed while they were still alive, as per the government pathologist’s testimony.
Given the severity of the violence and the heinous nature of the crime, Drugean was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the two murders.
The badly decomposed bodies of Narpatty and Persaud were discovered on December 27, 2019, at the Sunsplash Holiday Beach Resort. The Major Crimes Unit of the Guyana Police Force made significant progress in the case after arresting several individuals.
Narpatty, who was on vacation in Guyana and staying at the resort, had intentions of renovating the facility, which was no longer in operation. His body was found with two toes from his left foot severed. Persaud’s body was found 15 feet away, with both hands tied behind his back and bound to a post on the balcony. His right foot was also secured to the same post with a rope, and his left foot was completely severed from the ankle. Both bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition.
