Sean Luke trial begins with 4 prosecution witnesses

TWO months after they pleaded not guilty to the brutal murder of six-year-old Sean Luke back in 2006, the two men charged with the crime have gone on trial.

Four witnesses testified on the first day of the judge-only trial before Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds, who gave her ruling on the admissibility of a large portion of the prosecution’s evidence.

Akeel Mitchell, 28, and Richard Chatoo, 30, are before the judge charged with Luke’s murder on a date unknown between March 25 and 29, 2006.

She admitted the statements and interview notes of both men, saying the State had met its burden. She found there was no oppression and the statements had been voluntarily given, nor were there any breaches of the judge’s rules by the police during their interviews of the two.

The judge said she will give detailed reasons for admitting the evidence at the end of the trial, which continues on Wednesday.

Apart from the four witnesses who testified virtually on Monday, the State has some 28 other witnesses to call to give evidence. Two of them will be in the form of formal admissions, since the defence has agreed they have no questions for them, while the others will testify virtually or in person from one of the courtrooms at the San Fernando High Court.

Three of the overall witnesses are linked to an application for fresh evidence which will be made on Friday.

Although not referring specifically what the fresh evidence was, in February, during the sessions on the challenge to the admissibility of evidence (also called a voir dire), prosecutors said they intended to admit DNA evidence in the case once they received the analysis of the samples.

At the time, DNA analysis reports were still outstanding, although samples had been sent for testing in 2006. Senior prosecutor Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, at the time, pointed to a legal notice which gave approval for a private laboratory to do DNA testing.

At Monday’s hearing, the prosecutor said the case for the prosecution will change once the fresh evidence application is filed and it is admitted into evidence. She said full disclosure has already been made to the defence and all that was outstanding was a statement from an analyst and an officer involved in the movement of exhibits.

Although Mitchell’s attorneys argued that they wanted the application made and the issue dealt with before the trial started, “as it would adversely affect” his case, the judge opted to press on with the testimony of the first four witnesses, especially since Mitchell’s attorney Mario Merritt said he no longer agreed that the voir-dire evidence will be incorporated into the main trial.

He said because of the potential fresh evidence, he would want to deal with all the evidence of the witnesses anew.

“What does that achieve except a fishing expedition? Let us proceed. I just heard that I have to hear evidence all over,” the judge said as she called on the prosecution to call its first witness.

She also invited the prosecution to make an opening statement, but they declined. Chatoo’s attorney, Evans Welch, said he had no objection to incorporating the evidence from his client’s voir dire.

First to testify was WPC Nina Rawlins-Barkley, who submitted three photographs of a cane field in Orange Valley, Couva; a photograph of a stone embedded in the ground and a cane stump.

Testifying afterwards was Insp Gregory Hood, the official police draughtsman, who tendered a drawing of the area in Orange Valley where the boy’s body was found.

He also said part of the area had a foul smell when he went there.

The two other officers to testify were retired PC Anthony Thurab, of the police K9 unit, who went to the scene with police dog Eric, and PC Danny Ramlogan, who at the time was assigned to the Couva police station.

Eric was not a cadaver dog, since the police did not have one at the time, but had found Luke’s body.

After Luke’s mother, Pauline Lum Fai, made a missing-person report, Ramlogan went to the scene for asearch, which included police, civilians and police helicopters. The search was called off at about 11 pm, and the next day, just before 6 am, he went to a busy area in the cane field where he saw the body of a child, lying on its back, naked in the bushes.

Luke had been sodomised with a sugar cane stalk that ruptured his intestines and internal organs. He died from internal bleeding.

Mitchell was 15 when he was arrested and charged and Chatoo was 12.

Both men appeared virtually from the Maximum Security Prison virtual court facility for prisoners.

They are represented by attorneys Mario Merritt, Evans Welch, Kirby Joseph, Randall Raphael, Kelston Pope and Gabriel Hernandez. State attorneys Anju Bhola and Sophia Sandy-Smith are also prosecuting.