Bibi Sharima-Gopaul and her partner Jarvis Small were yesterday morning formally committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of Bibi’s daughter, Neesa Gopaul.
At the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry told the accused that they had been committed to stand trial in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature at the next appropriate sitting of the October Demerara assizes.
In a brief address to the court, the magistrate said yesterday that after reviewing the evidence presented to the court, there was sufficient evidence for a prima facie case against the jointly-charged duo.
The charge levelled against the two, of 13 Public Road Leonora, West Coast Demerara, is that between September 24 and October 2, 2010 at Madewini, Linden-Soesdyke Highway, they murdered Neesa Gopaul.
Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos, Small’s lawyer, requested an opportunity for his client to speak to the court in his own defence.
A composed and well-spoken Small gave an unsworn statement, in which he maintained his innocence.
At the end of the address, De Santos told the court that Small would not be calling witnesses. Small then signed his statement.
De Santos, who was absent when the case was called on Thursday, yesterday apologised to the court for his absence, while explaining that another case at the Suddie Magistrates’ Court necessitated his presence. He said he was not at Bartica as his colleague attorney Vic Puran had reported to the court.
Puran had requested an adjournment to allow De Santos an opportunity to respond to the court’s ruling of having made out a prima facie case against the accused persons. As a result, the court granted yesterday’s final hearing for that purpose, after which the formal committal was made.
There was a packed courtroom yesterday, with relatives and friends of both accused standing calmly near the prisoners’ docks.
At the end of the hearing, the magistrate thanked both the prosecution and defence for their assistance to the court throughout the proceedings.
The teenager’s body was stuffed into a suitcase, which was discovered by a group of picnickers on October 2 anchored in the creek at the Emerald Tower Resort. Her head was bashed in so that her remains appeared headless.
A woman who made the discovery said that a large piece of metal was removed from the creek by the police the following day. Investigators subsequently returned to the scene and discovered several dumbbells which were also used to anchor the suitcase to the bottom of the creek.
The case provoked widespread public outrage and condemnation of those who failed to assist the teenager during a difficult period of abuse in varying forms prior to her death.
