Five Teenagers Charged With Murdering Former University Of Guyana Professor

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, May 17, (CMC) – Five teenagers, including two women, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts court here, today, charged with murdering former university professor, Perry Mars, whose body was found tied up at his home in Prashad Nagar, last Thursday night.

The teenagers were brought to the court under heavy police security, as more than 100 people flocked into the yard to get a glimpse of them.

The media were locked out of the building and the court room was emptied with the exception of the attorneys and the prosecution involved in the case.

The five, whose names were not disclosed, were not required to enter a plea to the charge when it was read out by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The 15-year-old girl was charged as a juvenile while the others were charged as adults.

Police said the body of Mars, 75, a Guyana-born American professor, was found by his wife, bound and gagged in his study at about 7.00 pm on Thursday

Mars was educated at the University of Guyana where he received his Bachelors degree in History, and Carleton University in Ottawa, where he obtained both a Masters degree in International Affairs and a Ph.D in Political Science.

He served in various university positions before going to Africana Studies at Wayne State, including a professorship of Political Science and Development Studies at the University of Guyana and various visiting positions at the University of California (Berkeley), California State University (Los Angeles), The New School for Social Research (New York) and the University of West Indies (Mona, Jamaica).

Professor Mars was also the recipient of several academic awards including two Fullbright professorships, and a MacArthur fellowship award.

He was a Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wayne State University where he taught his primary specialty, Caribbean Politics and Culture.

He has also taught several other courses in the Africana Studies department, including Black Social and Political Thought, Race and Racism in America, and Black Social Movements.

Professor Mars was instrumental in developing an international academic exchange project between Africana Studies, the College of Urban Labor and Metropolitan Affairs (CULMA), and the University of Guyana.

This project envisages the exchange of both students and faculty between Wayne State University and the University of Guyana, embracing graduate training and research activities on Race and Ethnic Conflict Resolution in the Caribbean and Black Diaspora generally.

The five accused are due to re-appear in court on June 14.