Latest update March 27th, 2026 12:40 AM
Ghalee Khan charged for killing ex-girlfriend
Kaieteur News- United States (US) drug trafficking convict, Ghalee Khan, was remanded on Tuesday to prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, 30-year-old Marissa Beete.
United States (US) drug trafficking convict, Ghalee Khan, remanded for murder
The 47-year-old businessman of Lot 233 Henry Avenue, Lamaha Springs, Georgetown, shot and killed Beete on April 8, 2025, before shooting himself at the woman’s Lot 706 Recht-Door-Zee, West Bank Demerara (WBD) home.
He was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) under police guard. Following his discharge from the hospital on Monday, Khan was charged with the offence of murder.
Khan appeared at the Wales Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Rondel Weaver armed with his lawyers, Eusi Anderson, Rena Marcus, and Cassidé Nurse.
The magistrate read the indictable charge to him. He was not required to enter a plea.
The matter was adjourned to May 27, 2025.
Anderson told Kaieteur News that the defence has submitted a request to the court for a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether Khan is fit to stand trial.
He informed the court that this was not Khan’s first suicide attempt. “He attempted suicide four times—twice in the month of March and twice in April—prior to this incident,” Anderson stated.
As a result, the magistrate ordered a psychiatric evaluation and a voir dire (a trial within a trial) to assess Khan’s competence to stand trial.
Dead: Marissa Beete
Additionally, the court directed government services to conduct an independent psychiatric assessment.
Reports are that Beete, an employee of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, was shot in her head between 18:15 and 19:00hrs on April 8.
“Initial investigation revealed that the now-deceased woman and the suspect shared a romantic relationship for the past two (2) years. However, the relationship ended due to a misunderstanding (it is unclear what the misunderstanding was),” police said in a statement.
According to the statement, around 16:15hrs, Beete was at home with her 62-year-old mother, Jennifer Vaughn, when she received a call from the suspect, who told her that he wanted to speak with her.
Despite her mom rebuking her for doing so, Beete opened the door and invited Khan into the house.
“The 62-year-old woman stated that she got up and went to the back of the house, giving the suspect and her daughter privacy.
Sometime after, the woman said she heard her daughter call out ‘Mommy’, followed by a loud explosion. The woman said she immediately rushed to the living room, where she saw her daughter (Marissa) in a slouched-over position on the ground and what appeared to be blood coming from her head.”
Police said that at that time, Khan was seen standing with what appeared to be a gun over Beete’s head. The 62-year-old woman said she ran and held onto Khan, who fired another shot in an unknown direction. Khan allegedly pushed Vaughn to the floor, after which he turned the gun and shot himself once in the head.
Both Khan and Beete were taken to the West Demerara Hospital, where the woman succumbed to her injuries and Khan was transferred to a city hospital for treatment.
Police noted that Beete’s body was checked for any marks of violence, and one bullet-like wound was seen above her right eye.
Police said that they recovered the firearm, along with three (3) live rounds of ammunition, at the scene of the crime.
In 2023, Khan, a businessman, was re-sentenced to an 18-month term, some two years after he was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking and skipping bail. After serving the 18-month sentence, he was deported to Guyana.
Khan and Danvor Griffith were jointly charged in November 2008 with drug trafficking, and Khan was granted US$200,000 bail. However, he fled the United States and came to Guyana.
An arrest warrant was issued for him after he failed to appear in a New York court. While in Guyana, Khan established several businesses, including a security firm.
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