GEORGETOWN, Guyana – A High Court judge on Monday sentenced a businessman to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 20 years, following his conviction for the 2018 murder of 19-year-old Nyron Vyphuis, who was attempting to save the man’s wife from being assaulted.
Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court imposed the sentence on Anthony Jones, who was originally charged with murder, but opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.
Jones told the court that on October 13, 2018, he killed the teenager by stabbing him to death.
He said he was intoxicated on the day in question and pleaded with the court for a second chance, apologising also to the victim’s family
“I ask for forgiveness, I accept my faults,” Jones told the court during his sentencing hearing.
But Justice Kissoon said that Jones had “ruthlessly and violently” ended the life of Vyphuis, who at the time was still a teenager. The judge said he took into consideration that the crime was a premeditated act, a deathly weapon was used and the element of domestic violence.
The teenager died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he was brought for treatment after he tried to prevent Jones’ common-law wife from being stabbed while the two were quarrelling at their liquor shop. (CMC)
