Randall Raphael News Today

Six men from Morvant who were accused of shooting to death another man in the area in 2009 have all been freed of the capital offence.

Sean Luke - FOUR months after they pleaded not-guilty to the brutal murder of six-year-old Sean Luke in 2006, prosecutors have presented all their evidence against Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo and have closed their case. Mitchell and Chatoo, who were teenagers when they were charged with the boy’s murder on a date unknown, between March 25 and 29, 2006, in Couva, entered their not-guilty pleas on February 12, before Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds, having opted for a judge-only trial. On M...

Minor hitch in Sean Luke trial – final witness has covid19 concerns Sean Luke - ANOTHER subpoena will be issued for the prosecution’s final witness – the police officer who charged the two men with the murder of six-year-old Sean Luke – to return to court to complete his evidence. The State has encountered some difficulty in getting retired Sgt Alexis Garcia to give his testimony at the trial because of his concerns for his family and exposure to covid19. A subpoena was issued on Tuesd...

Judge allows DNA evidence in Sean Luke murder trial Sean Luke - Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence will form part of the prosecution’s case against the two men indicted for the murder of six-year-old Sean Luke in 2006. Opposition to the admission of the DNA evidence came from one of the men charged with the boy’s murder in the form of a motion to stay the indictment against him because of the delay by the State to disclose the evidence, but this was shot down by the judge presiding over ...

Sean Luke trial: One accused to object to DNA evidence Sean Luke, 6, was murdered in 2006. ONE of the men charged with the brutal murder of six-year-old Sean Luke intends to object to the admissibility of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) evidence, while the second man will give evidence at the trial. Wednesday’s sitting of the virtual trial of Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo ended before lunch because of the unavailability of the witness scheduled for the day, police officer Leith Jones. He ha...

Sean Luke, 6, was murdered in 2006. FORENSIC pathologist Dr Easlyn McDonald-Burris on Monday provided harrowing details of the injuries that contributed to the brutal death of six-year-old Sean Luke. She admitted the boy’s autopsy traumatised her, and, 15 years and hundreds of autopsies later, still had an effect on her. Mc Donald-Burris spent all of Monday testifying at the trial of the two men – Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo – charged with Luke’s murder sometime between March 25...

Pathologist to testify next at Sean Luke trial Sean Luke - ON MONDAY, the pathologist who did the autopsy on the body of six-year-old Sean Luke, days after his body was found in a cane field near his Orange Valley home, is expected to give evidence at the trial of the two men charged with the boy’s murder. On Friday, the defence completed its interrogation of the State’s last civilian witnesses in the case. As a result, the temporary gag on reporting the two witnesses’ evidence was lifte...

Sean Luke trial: Witness No 17 grilled by defence Sean Luke - THE Sean Luke murder trial continued on Wednesday with the cross-examination of one of the State’s main witnesses, Arvis Pradeep. Pradeep is the 17th witness to give evidence, either orally or through written statements, at the trial of Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo. The two are charged with Luke’s murder on a date unknown sometime between March 25 and 29, 2006, at Orange Valley, Couva. Both men opted for a judge-only tria...

Second Sean Luke accused claims case against him is fabricated Sean Luke, 6, was murdered in 2006. - THE second man charged with the 2006 murder of six-year-old Sean Luke has maintained his innocence. Richard Chatoo has challenged the allegations against him, saying it is fabricated. Chatoo’s defence statement was read out in open court on Monday when the trial resumed. In addition to claiming the allegations against him were fabricated, he also maintained that statements police took from h...

Judge amends media gag order in Sean Luke trial Sean Luke. - WEDNESDAY’S temporary gag on the media reporting of the Sean Luke trial has been amended. While the media is still restricted from reporting any part of the evidence of Avinash Baboolal, the State’s main witness, while he is giving evidence, the temporary gag ends when his testimony and that of another civilian witness, Avis Pradeep, come to an end. “It is not a prohibition on reporting. It is delayed reporting,” the judge sa...