Lawyer mounts no-case submission:
by
Derek Achong
Lawyers representing one of two men accused of murdering six-year-old Sean Luke as teenagers has claimed that his semen being found on Luke’s underwear is not proof that he murdered him. Akeel Mitchell’s lawyer Mario Merritt made the suggestion yesterday as he presented a no-case submission for his client during a virtual hearing before Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds. “All the semen on the shorts prove is that he (Mitchell) may or may not have had sex with the deceased. It does not take us further than that,” Merritt said.
State gets green light to use DNA evidence against accused
by
Derek Achong
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has been given the green light to use DNA evidence in the trial of two men, accused of murdering Sean Luke when they were teenagers.
Delivering a decision at the start of yesterday’s hearing of Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo’s judge-alone trial, High Court judge Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds dismissed an application to stay the indictment against Mitchell, which was brought as prosecutors sought to introduce the evidence when the trial was already at an advanced stage.
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Gag order on Sean Luke murder witness
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Sean Luke murder trial logo
The High Court Judge presiding over the trial of two men accused of murdering six-year-old Sean Luke has restricted the publication of the evidence of the State’s latest witness.
Avinash Baboolal, a resident of Luke’s community at Orange Valley Road in Couva, began testifying in the virtual judge-alone trial before Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds yesterday.
Sean Luke Murder Trial:
by
Derek Achong
The mere sight of the pair of clothing her son was wearing the last time she saw him alive, a little over 14 years ago, was enough to make Sean Luke’s mother break down in pain and anguish, yesterday.
Pauline Barath, who had been relatively composed since she began testifying before Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds, last Friday, was understandably grief-striken as she was shown a pair of blue shorts and underwear and asked to identify them once more.