Court files |02 August 2022
Lussel Labiche and Ashten Elisabeth remanded for 11 days
The two accused in the murder case of Sherleytine Ernesta – Lussel Labiche, 44 years old, and Ashten Elisabeth, 18 years old – have been remanded until their next appearance in court on August 11.
They appeared before Chief Justice Rony Govinden yesterday at the Supreme Court.
The two accused have three charges brought against them: The first is conspiracy to commit the offense namely murder; secondly aiding and abetting a person to commit the offense of murder and thirdly murder.
The body of 21-year-old Sherleytine Ernesta of Mont Plaisir was found in Bougainville on May 4, 2022, two days after she had been reported missing.
The first accused, Lussel Labiche, is represented by defence attorney Clifford Andre and Ashten Elisabeth by attorneys Vanessa Gill and Karine Dick while the prosecution is led by Counsel Hemanth Kumar Muninadhan.
Vidya Gappy
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The Republic vs Mukesh Valabhji/Laura Valabhji
Accused remanded for 10 days
In the case The Republic vs Mukesh Valabhji/Laura Valabhji, the State Counsel has to present another motion detailing the documents and electronic equipment that was seized at Laura Valabhji’s house and office.
State Counsel Stephen Powles is waiting for a response from Laura Valabhji on his motion to appoint an independent officer to go through the documents and the digital equipment to make sure there is no connection related to the purchase of weapons.
At the moment all these are being kept at the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles (ACCS) office.
In court yesterday before Chief Justice Rony Govinden, Mrs Valabhji stated that she cannot give an answer to that as she was never informed in the first place about what documents and equipment were seized from her house and office and she is also not sure if the seized materials are hers.
In court yesterday, State Counsel Powles said he was also not aware of the details of the seized property as they were still with the ACCS.
CJ Govinden asked the Attorney General’s office to provide to the court the exact list of the seized documents and devices and who is the officer that they are proposing.
CJ also asked the AG’s office to state under what process the materials were seized.
CJ Govinden reminded the State Counsel that any motion should not be filed on the day the case is being heard as the accused need sufficient time to prepare their defence.
The three accused in this case – Mukesh Valabhji, Laura Valabhji and Leslie Benoiton – have been remanded until their next appearance set for August 10, 2022.
Vidya Gappy