Double-death mystery… Coomacka man charged with killing neighbour
Almost eight months after Ronald Wong was chopped to death near his Three Friends Mines, Coomacka, Region Ten, home, his neighbour has been charged with his killing.
Terrence Pancham, 53, an operator of Three Friends Mines, was on Tuesday charged with manslaughter when he appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court via zoom. He was released on $400,000 bail by Magistrate Wanda Fortune after she read the charge to him. It is alleged that on May 29, 2021 he killed his neighbour, Ronald Wong, 32, of Three Friends Mines.
He will make his next appearance on January 21.
According to previous reports, Wong, who was said to be of unsound mind and had special needs, sustained injuries after an altercation during the night of May 29. It was reported that the man and Leonard Reece, a relative who he stayed with after being released from incarceration the month prior, had an argument before reportedly going to bed. Witnesses told the police that sometime during the night they heard shouts of murder and both men’s bodies were discovered with injuries. Reece’s body was found in the yard with chops while Wong’s body was found in a boat near the home. He also sustained injuries.
It was suspected that Wong who was complaining about working for Reece and barely being paid, fired the first chop. The evidence pointed to the probability of a third party being involved and it is suspected that Pancham, the neighbour, became involved after the first killing occurred.