By Sue-Ann Wayow
MORE than 15 years after little Sean Luke was tortured and murdered, two men have been found guilty of the crime.
Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds announced the verdicts on the two accused Akeel Mitchell, 29, and Richard Chatoo, 31, on Friday in a judge-alone trial that was made public via YouTube.
Six-year-old Luke was murdered in 2006, with his body being found in cane field close to his Orange Valley Trace, Couva home. Investigations revealed that he died from internal chest and abdominal injuries caused by a cane stalk being inserted into his body cavity from the anus.
Mitchell and Chatoo were both teenagers when they were charged and have denied the charges. They were under 18 when the crime was committed and therefore will not face the hangman.
In delivering her verdict, Ramsumair-Hinds said she was satisfied with the State’s evidence.
She said “I am sure that accused number one (Mitchell) and accused number two (Chatoo) planned to harm Sean Luke. Their plan to go on the fishing trip provided them with an opportunity.
“I am sure what happened in the cane was a frenzied assault.”
The judge said, “I believe that number two was covering Sean Luke’s mouth making him an accessory to the crime.”
Justice Ramsumair-Hinds said she was certain that the cane stalk was pushed in Luke’s body until it had nowhere to go.
The defence attorneys will have to present their plea in mitigation in an attempt to urge the court to exercise leniency in passing sentence.
The submissions will be presented in writing and the sentence will be passed on August 23.
The two accused were represented by Mario Merritt, Evans Welch, Randall Raphael, Kelston Pope, Kirby Joseph and Gabriel Hernandez.
Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, Anju Bhola and Sophia Sandy-Smith prosecuted.
