By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE two men convicted of murdering six-year-old Sean Luke in 2006 will now have to face a retrial.
By Monday, Akeel Mitchell, 30, and Richard Chatoo, 32 who were found to be guilty last year July, will have their first appearance before a new judge.
This after the State has conceded defeat in an appeal brought by the men’s attorneys.
On Tuesday, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) George Busby and Assistant DPP Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal said they could not defend four of the ten grounds of appeal filed by a team of attorneys led by Jagdeo Singh.
The panel included Justices of Appeal Nolan Bereaux, Mark Mohammed and Maria Wilson.
Busby said that he and Dougdeen-Jaglal consulted with DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, before making the decision.
Busby said, “It is with great regret that I am to indicate that we feel unable to deal with the challenges posed in grounds two, four, five and seven. I have been instructed by the DPP that the appeal cannot be defended.”
Justice Bereaux said the panel unanimously agreed with the concessions made by the State with respect to the four grounds.
The concessions related to several errors made by the trial judge.
Luke’s decomposing body was found in March 2006. An autopsy revealed that he was sodomised by a sugarcane stalk which caused bleeding and internal injuries.
His mother Pauline Lum Fai has repeatedly called for justice over the years.
