Duo accused of fatally beating Linden man slapped with manslaughter charge

Two men who are accused of beating a Victory Valley, Wismar, Linden man with a piece of wood, were today charged with manslaughter. Those charged are 26-year-old Utho Duke and 34-year-old Orlando Montooth, both of Victory Valley, Wismar Linden.

The duo was not required to plea to the indictable charge which stated that on March 6, 2021, at Victory Valley, they unlawfully killed Samuel De Souza, age 47. They appeared before Magistrate Wanda Fortune at the Linden Magistrate Court. The men were released on $400,000 bail each.

The condition of the bail is that they report to the Wismar Police Station two times a month until the hearing and determination of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI). They were instructed to make their next court appearance on April 22, 2021.

It was reported that on the day in question, De Souza had an altercation with a female who, along with her daughter confronted him. He subsequently ran away through the track leading to his home but some thirty minutes afterward, two unidentified males came out of the said track and told the woman and her daughter that De Souza was dead.

The Police on arrival at the scene observed that De Souza was lying on his back on the track in front of his home. A wooden-handle spear was observed resting on his body with what appeared to be blood. Three knives and a screwdriver were found in De Souza’s pants waist.

His mouth and right ear had what appeared to be blood oozing from them. There were also superficial bruises seen on the exposed parts of his body. His body was escorted to the Linden Hospital Complex where it was examined by a doctor who pronounced him dead on arrival. Following an investigation, the men were arrested and charged with the offence.