The June 2026 Criminal Assizes for Berbice officially commenced on Tuesday, with 84 criminal matters scheduled to be heard before the Berbice High Court over the coming months.

Sexual offences and murder and related offences comprised the vast majority of the caseload, with sexual offences alone accounting for more than 45 of the matters to be heard.

The opening of the new criminal session was marked by the customary ceremonial parade mounted by members of the Guyana Police Force outside the High Court in New Amsterdam. Presiding Judge Justice Simone Morris inspected the guard of honour and took the salute before formally declaring the session open.

The Assizes is expected to continue until October and will see a wide range of serious criminal matters brought before judge and jury. Aside from rape and murder, others include manslaughter, attempted murder, armed robbery, and break-and-enter charges.

Among the murder cases listed are several high-profile joint indictments. Krystal Thomas, Sinefine Henry and Jameil Sinclair are jointly charged with murder, while Curtis Robertson, Kelon Cadogan and Mark Sampson are also expected to stand trial together. Another joint murder matter involves Devendra Khemraj, Javed Ghanie, Ramzan Ally, Anil Angashalam, Vidnand Khemraj and Gregory Tejpertab.

Separate murder indictments are also scheduled against Ganeshwar Sheocharan, Collin Alex Hazel, Bhola Jaipersaud, Roshanie Basdeo, Seelall Dipnarine, Kevin Somrah and Mark Anthony Henry.

Given that sexual offences make up the single largest category of matters before the court this session, several such cases are expected to feature prominently. Robert Campbell faces four counts of sexual activity with a child family member, while Ravello Tyndall is before the court on allegations including rape of a child under the age of sixteen, sexual activity with a child under sixteen, and sexual assault.

Meanwhile, the retrial of Krishna Tulapersaud, which carried over from the February 2026 Assizes, remains ongoing before the court. Tulapersaud is facing two counts of sexual activity with a child family member, with proceedings expected to continue next week.

The list of matters to be heard also includes four manslaughter cases, several attempted murder indictments, a robbery under arms charge against Delroy Parks, known as "Sickman", and a break-and-enter and larceny case involving five accused persons.

Attorney-at-Law Marisa Edwards will appear on behalf of the State during the session as prosecutors seek to advance the substantial caseload before the court.

The new Assizes follows the conclusion of the February 2026 Criminal Assizes, during which 13 matters were heard by Justices Simone Morris and Deborah Kumar-Chetty. Among the most significant outcomes from that session was the conviction of Anil Sancharra and Vinod Gopaul for the 2020 murders of cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry. Both men are scheduled to return to court on June 26 for sentencing.