Rishi “Cook Meat" Motilal has been sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of killing of his 34-year-old common-law wife Tara Ramsaroop and their daughter Shermaya Jada Motilal on October 8, 2024 in a violent domestic attack that shocked the country.

The ruling was handed down by Justice Nalini Singh on Monday in a judge-alone trial after Montilal was convicted on two counts of murder following a trial that examined evidence surrounding the fatal incident. The court heard details of a dispute between the accused and his wife that escalated into violence, resulting in the deaths of both the woman and the couple’s young child.

Prosecutors presented evidence linking the accused to the scene and outlining the circumstances of the killings, while the defense challenged aspects of the case during the proceedings. After deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict, leading to the mandatory death sentence under Trinidad and Tobago law for capital murder.