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.
Ramsumair-Hinds waited to the very end of the hearing at 4 pm to inform media personnel that she was exercising her judicial discretion to restrict reports on Baboolal’s evidence and cross-examination.
Ramsumair-Hinds noted the importance of an open hearing, especially in the context of the public interest in Luke’s case, but stated that the temporary gag order was necessary.
She did not elaborate further.
Baboolal is the 16th witness to testify since the trial commenced last month.
Thirteen of the witnesses, including Luke’s mother Pauline Bharath, who completed her evidence on Monday, have testified in person from virtual court facilities at the San Fernando High Court.
The evidence of the other three witnesses were tendered via formal admissions, as they were not contested by the duo’s defence attorneys.
Luke went missing on the evening of March 26, 2006 and his body was found two days later in an abandoned sugarcane field, which bounds his community.
An autopsy revealed that he died from internal injuries arising out of being sodomised with a cane stalk.
Richard Chatoo and his stepfather’s nephew Akeel Mitchell, who lived with his family near to Luke’s house, were teenagers when they were charged with the crime.
Mitchell is being represented by Mario Merritt, Kirby Joseph and Randall Raphael, while Evans Welch, Kelston Pope and Gabriel Hernandez are representing Chatoo.
Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, Anju Bhola and Sophia Sandy-Smith are prosecuting.
The trial is expected to resume tomorrow.