Trial for the murder of Rupert BerneyAppasamy |11 May 2022

Court listens to evidence from two crime scene officers

The trial of the two accused in the murder Rupert BerneyAppasamy whose completely decomposed body was found shallowly buried at Bougainville, Takamaka on September 23, 2021 continued yesterday with evidence from the prosecution.

The two accused ‒Sindu Parekh and Ken Jean-Charles‒ are being represented by lawyers Tony Juliette and Olivier Chang-Leng respectively.

Justice Mohan Niranjit Burhan is presiding over the case while the prosecution lawyers are Corrine Rose and Georges Thachet.

The first witness on the stand was crime scene officer, corporal Kelly Auguste from the scientific support and crime record bureau (SSCRB) who provided the court with the first exhibits of the case ‒ a batch of 272 photographs taken by her during the various stages of the investigation.

During the whole of the morning session, corporal Auguste who was working under the command of inspector Ralph Agathine walked the court, including the nine-member jury, through the various stages of the investigation from the crime scene to other relevant locations during the enquiry.

Other than tests to identify the presence of blood at the crime scene, corporal Auguste explained that she also carried out swab tests and also obtained evidences including gloves, a baton and cell phones in vehicle S34437 ‒ an Isuzu model pick-up truck belonging to one of the accused, namely Jean-Charles.

In her evidence, she also stated the presence of a syringe, drag marks and a sheet of corrugated ironat the crime scene containing blood.

Corporal Auguste also noted that while conducting a search at the dwelling house of Shirley Jean-Charles at Le Niol, a crowbar, a spade and a pair of black gloves were also recovered and seized as evidence.

Still according to her, during another search, precisely at the residence of Mike Maria at Quincy Village, another crowbar was seized and later identified by Terry Marie, the same person who led them to the initial crime scene at Bougainville.

Upon returning to the crime scene for further processing, corporal Auguste said two knives, a spade, a sharp piece of rock and a partially cut bottle of water were also retrieved.

She said as a photographer with the SSCRB, she also attended the autopsy of the victim carried out by Cuban medical examiner Raul Ramirez at the Seychelles Hospital mortuary.

The second witness, corporal Stephanie Agathe, also from the SSCRB, submitted another batch of photographs – five altogether – as evidence number two in the case.

Corporal Agathe noted that she was not that much involved in the case, but was only asked to take photographs of a pick-hoe on the property of Elizabeth Green at Anse Royale.

Parekh and Jean-Charles are being tried for the murder of Appasamy who was reported missing on September 14 after last being seen alive by members of his family on September 11 at his place of residence at Eden Village, Roche Caïman.

Initially presumed to be an abduction case, the matter was soon turned into a murder case following evidence gathered and the scene which also constituted that a murder had happened there.

The trial of the accused continues today.

Roland Duval