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Neesa Gopaul PI…Accused may know fate in August
Bibi Gopaul and Jarvis Small, the two people accused of murdering 16-year-old Queen’s College student Neesa Gopaul, may very well know whether they will have to face a High Court trial when the Preliminary Inquiry is scheduled to convene on August 9 at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Bibi Gopaul and Jarvis Small
The mother of the teen and her lover were informed by Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry yesterday that a ruling on the matter may be made on the specified date. That will however be the case for the accused if the Chief, who is presiding over the matter, completes the perusal of the case file’s evidence, and is clear about the information put by the defence and the prosecution.
The court head said that she would be making a ruling on the next occasion, but would be seeking clarifications on the matter if needed and if those clarifications could also be requested at the next meeting of the matter.
Yesterday’s hearing saw Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos who is representing the number one accused Jarvis Small, adding and reiterating information put forward in his submissions that his client had no case to answer.
De Santos reiterated to the court that the prosecution, which is headed by State Prosecutor Priteema Kissoon, only has one piece of evidence against his client and that piece of evidence pertains to physical items allegedly found at the scene of the crime. That, he however said, was not enough to determine a prima facie case against his client.
De Santos added that nothing in the alleged conversation between prosecution witness, Simone De Nobrega, and Bibi Gopaul could be used against his client. He said that apart from the physical evidence against Small no other admissible evidence was put by the prosecution as it related to Small. What De Santos said existed was evidence of suspicion. To that, the lawyer said he put over authorities on the issue of suspicion which made it clear that suspicion could not be proof.
In his final stance on the matter, De Santos asked the court that on the matter of law, to view the facts and to determine whether it is enough to state murder and to warrant a prima facie case against his client.
On the last occasion, Vic Puran who is representing Gopaul said that the main evidence being led against his client is inadmissible. He said that the alleged conversation his client had with De Nobrega could not be used against her.
It is alleged that in October 2010 the mother of the deceased and her lover murdered Neesa Gopaul in a remote area along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway. The teen’s body was discovered in a partially sunken suitcase which was being weighed down by a pair of dumb -bells (exercise equipment). Half of the girl’s head appeared to be missing.
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