A 27-year-old man from Buxton, East Coast Demerara, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after confessing to the strangulation of a woman and the subsequent disposal of her body near a remote mining camp in Region Seven.
Keron Hope, also known as “Blacka,” pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the death of 26-year-old Mariam Edwards, known as “Mary.” The incident occurred between June 8 and 9, 2022, at Kumung Kumung, Puruni River, where both Hope and Edwards were employed in the gold mining industry.
According to court proceedings, police were alerted on June 9, 2022, after Edwards was reported missing under suspicious circumstances. When officers arrived at the mining camp, they found Hope tied to a post, displaying signs of violence. During questioning, Hope admitted to killing Edwards and led investigators to the site where he had dumped her body near a tailings pond.
Hope initially told police that he attacked Edwards while she was alone at the camp, causing her to lose consciousness, before stealing 21 pennyweights of gold from her and disposing of her body. In a subsequent statement, Hope provided a more detailed account, revealing that after a sexual encounter, Edwards expressed her intention to end their affair, citing her boyfriend’s discovery of their relationship. An argument ensued, during which Edwards allegedly slapped Hope. In retaliation, he choked her until she lost consciousness, dragged her body to the river’s edge, and then stole her purse containing gold.
The body was later recovered, and a post-mortem examination confirmed that Edwards died from manual strangulation, with additional blunt trauma to the head.
During sentencing at the High Court in Essequibo, Justice Navindra Singh considered Hope’s early guilty plea, cooperation with authorities, lack of prior criminal record, age, and expressed remorse. However, the judge also acknowledged the gravity of the crime and the emotional trauma inflicted on Edwards’ family. Starting from a baseline of 30 years, the sentence was reduced for mitigating factors but increased slightly due to the severity of the impact on the victim’s loved ones, resulting in a final term of 12 years. Time already spent on remand will be deducted from Hope’s sentence.
The case has sparked renewed calls for greater safety and accountability in Guyana’s interior mining regions, where transient workforces and isolated conditions can leave individuals vulnerable to violence.
