East Coast Demerara man Mahaica, 50, on Thursday was sentenced to 56 years imprisonment, with the possibility of parole after serving 28 years, for murdering his neighbor in 2017.
Foster Gravesande was sentenced by the case judge, Justice Navindra Singh in the Demerara High Court; last month, a 12-member jury found Gravesande guilty of the charge, which read that he murdered 49-year-old Courtney Porter on April 09, 2017.
Gravesande was represented by attorney-in-law, Dexter Todd, while State was represented by prosecutor Teriq Mohammed. In court on Thursday, Gravesande pleaded for mercy, and expressed his willingness to offer financial support to the victim’s family.
“Sir, I am not a bad person. What you see here, just me. The only thing about me is that I love women, ”he told the court.
Prosecutor Mohammed labeled the case as “the senseless killing of one friend by another,” as he explained that the two sides knew each other.
The judge, in sentencing, said he found no mitigating factors because, in his opinion, Gravesande showed no remorse that the victim had died because of his actions.
According to reports, on May 25, 2017, Porter was said to have been beaten to his head with a piece of wood by Gravesande, who had accused him of ripping his wife’s clothes.
Porter was hospitalized, while Gravesande was charged with attempted murder and released on bail; however, on May 25, 2017, Porter succumbed to his injuries and Gravesande was charged with murder.