[UPDATED] Minimum terms of 11, 17 years for Sean Luke killers

SEAN LUKE’s killers have been sentenced to minimum terms of detention in prison for the brutal killing of the six-year-old schoolboy from Orange Valley, Couva in 2006.

A minimum sentence of 17 years, six months and 13 days’ at the court’s pleasure, has been imposed on 28-year-old Akeel Mitchell, with period reviews every three years. His next review comes up on September 13, 2024.

His accomplice in the brutal killing, 31-year-old Richard Chatoo, received a term of detention of 11 years, six months and 13 days’ at the court’s pleasure. He too will return in three years for a sentence review by a judge.

In sentencing both men on Wednesday, Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds said detention at the court’s pleasure did not operate as a “term of years,” nor was it a precise indication of when either will be released.

She said any early release would be dependent on their conduct while in prison but, even then, they will continue to “serve a sentence” for the rest of their lives.

“You have a lot of work to do,” she told them as she left them with the parting words of, “May God have mercy on your souls.”

Death penalty could not be applied

Earlier in her sentencing, she made it clear the death penalty was off the cards for the two who were ages 13 and 16 when they killed Luke. Ramsumair-Hinds said the law does not allow it. “There will be no proverbial pound of flesh.”

However, she acknowledged she was not persuaded that either of them had been adequately penalised for the “bizarre and sadistic manner of death” inflicted on Luke. She also admitted she did not think it was in theirs or anyone’s interest for either to return to society anytime soon.

On July 23, Ramsumair-Hinds found Mitchell and Chatoo guilty of Luke’s murder at the end of a judge-only trial.

The judge had deferred sentencing on two occasions to give attorneys time to file their written submissions and to receive the prison’s bio-social report and assessments for both men.

Mitchell’s attorneys had suggested a starting point of 18-20 years and Chatoo’s 15-18 years. The prosecution suggested 30-35 years. The judge began with a starting point of 35 years for Mitchell and 33 for Chatoo.

Time awaiting trial deducted from maximum sentence

They both received the 15 years, five months, and 18 days, spent awaiting trial, shaved off from their minimum term of imprisonment after the upward and downward adjustments were made for factors which went for and against them and their conduct. When she delivered her verdict in July, Ramsumair-Hinds said Luke’s killing was a planned and frenzied assault. Mitchell, she said, buggered Luke, while Chatoo assisted and encouraged him, after which Mitchell sodomised Luke with a cane stalk.

Mitchell’s DNA profile was found on Luke’s underwear, but none of Chatoo’s was found on either Luke’s clothing or the cane stalk, which ruptured his internal organs, causing his death.

At their virtual trial, both men denied killing Luke.

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Ramsumair-Hinds admitted there was no possible sentencing equation that could mitigate the loss of a child’s life, especially when it was taken by another child.

She also acknowledged the “inexplicable grief” of Luke’s mother, his family and the local community.

“Yes, it was a horrific crime. I acknowledge your passionate outrage.” But she urged the public to take time to read and understand her ruling on sentence when it becomes available next week.

For most of her almost two-hour-long sentencing, the judge went through the methodology she used to arrive at her final sentence.

In considering Mitchell’s sentence, she took into consideration not only the planning and premeditation of the crime, but also the nature of it – which she likened to being akin to grooming – the gratuitous acts on the child, and the attempt to conceal and thwart the discovery of the body.

Judge: Murderous act ‘rank savagery’

She also said the murderous act was of a kind hardly seen and uncommonly heinous.

“Rank savagery,” was how she also described it.

Ramsumair-Hinds was particularly disturbed by Mitchell’s attempt to use Luke’s mother as his alibi, saying it was calculated, chilling and cold and evidence of the cunning of the then 13-year-old.

Although she spoke of the positive report he received from the prison, she said she could not quite capture the nature of criminal deviance of a 13-year-old killing a woman’s son and minutes later sitting a few feet away from her, observing as she came to the realisation that her son could not be found.

She also admitted she “shuddered” at the thought that at that age, he did not have the overwhelming childish desire to hide, worry or fear as Luke’s principal killer, but it was clear that his intention was to make Pauline Bharat his alibi witness “while her son lay dead even before the seminal fluid dried on the child’s clothing.”

For this she said he deserved an upward adjustment of minimum detention from the 35-year starting point to 40 years. His age at the time was a mitigating factor leading to a downward adjustment of seven years. “He too was a child,” she said, later expressing the hope that her sentencing did not incense the right-thinking members of society.

15-year delay regrettable

She also expressed regret that the criminal justice system was so slow to try the then 13-year-old and expressed hope the initiatives of the Judiciary were embraced by all stakeholders to reduce the trial backlog and prevent the atrocity of delay.

In his report, Mitchell expressed desire to pursue careers in computer animation, graphics and film studies.

He has also gotten engaged; something which troubled the judge who said he proposed while facing an indictment for murder, defying logic.

Since neither expressed remorse for their actions, she said she also took that into consideration.

Chatoo received no upward adjustment to his minimum period of detention. He aspires to be a cook and has managed to secure two CSEC passes while in prison.

Because of his age at the time of the murder, he also received a downward adjustment from 33 years to 27.

As part of her sentencing order, before they return for their first review in 2024, reports on their conduct; personal advancement in prison; response to punishment, moral and religious teaching; medical, psychiatric or psychological reports must be provided to the reviewing judge.

Mitchell and Chatoo were represented by attorneys Mario Merritt, Evans Welch, Kirby Joseph, Randall Raphael, Kelston Pope and Gabriel Hernandez.

Assistant DPP Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, Anju Bhola and Sophia Smith-Sandy prosecuted.

Luke’s brother, mother react

In a post on his Facebook page, Luke’s older brother Damion Lumfai expressed his view on the sentences imposed.

He said, “Our justice system has saw it fit to subtract the 15 year waiting for trial from the final sentencing...So they killed my brother, the State made them wait 15 years, final sentencing, guilty verdict...Only ten more years’ incarceration.

“They should be released when in the 30s (sic)...Meanwhile, my brother is permanently gone...THANKS TRINIDAD...THANKS A LOT.”

Luke’s mother was also not circumspect in her view of the sentences imposed on her son’s killers.

“Justice has not been served. The system stinks…The judicial system is rotten to the core.

“They will come out and do that to somebody else’s child.

“My son was begging for his mummy. They have a heart? They have stone.”

This story was originally published with the title "Sean Luke killers escape death penalty" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

SEAN LUKE’s killers have been sentenced to minimum terms of detention in prison for the brutal killing of the six-year-old schoolboy from Orange Valley, Couva, in 2006.

A minimum sentence of 17 years, six months and 13 days at the court’s pleasure has been imposed on Akeel Mitchell, with period reviews every three years. His next review comes up on September 13, 2024.

His accomplice, Richard Chatoo, received a sentence of 11 years, six months and 13 days at the court’s pleasure. He too will return in three years for a sentence review by a judge.

Sentencing the men on Wednesday, Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds said detention at the court’s pleasure did not operate as a “term of years,” nor was it a precise indication of when either will be released.

She said any early release would depend on their conduct while in prison, but even then, they will continue to “serve a sentence” for the rest of their lives.

“You have a lot of work to do,” she told them as she left them with the parting words: “May God have mercy on your souls.”

Earlier in her sentencing, she made it clear the death penalty was off the cards for the two, who were 13 and 16 when they killed Luke. She said the law does not allow it.

“There will be no proverbial pound of flesh,” she said.

However, she acknowledged she was not persuaded that either of them had been adequately penalised for the “bizarre and sadistic manner of death” inflicted on Luke.

She also admitted she did not think it was in their or anyone’s interest for either to return to society any time soon.

On July 23, Ramsumair-Hinds found Mitchell and Chatoo guilty of the six-year-old’s murder at the end of a judge-only trial.

She had deferred sentencing on two occasions to give attorneys time to file their written submissions and receive the prison’s bio-social report and assessments of both men.

Mitchell’s attorneys had suggested a starting point of 18-20 years and Chatoo’s 15-18 years. The prosecution suggested 30-35 years. The judge began with a starting point of 35 years for Mitchell and 33 for Chatoo.

They both had 15 years, five months, and 18 days shaved off their term of imprisonment after upward and downward adjustments were made for factors which went for and against them and their conduct.

When she delivered her verdict in July, Ramsumair-Hinds said Luke’s killing was a planned and frenzied assault. Mitchell, she said, buggered Luke, while Chatoo assisted and encouraged him, after which Mitchell sodomised Luke with a cane stalk.

The State’s case rested mainly on circumstantial evidence, which featured the testimony of two other boys who said they last saw Luke enter the cane field where his body was found with Mitchell and Chatoo; the DNA evidence from the sperm fraction pointing to Mitchell; and the boy’s body found sodomised with a cane stalk.

Mitchell’s DNA profile was found on Luke’s underwear, but none of Chatoo’s was found on either Luke’s clothing or the cane stalk.

At their virtual trial, both men denied killing Luke. Mitchell raised an alibi and Chatoo alleged the police fabricated the statements he gave them, in which he implicated himself and Mitchell, and that they were adduced as a result of oppression, trickery, force and inducement.

Chatoo testified. Mitchell did not.

Mitchell and Chatoo were represented by attorneys Mario Merritt, Evans Welch, Kirby Joseph, Randall Raphael, Kelston Pope and Gabriel Hernandez.

Assistant DPP Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, Anju Bhola and Sophia Smith-Sandy prosecuted.

When the verdict was delivered in July, Luke’s mother, Pauline Bharat, said the guilty verdict brought her no joy.

In an interview with Newsday from her family's home at Henry Street West, Bharat said, "I just paused there and I took it in. It brings me no joy…This brought me no joy at all.

"My faith is not in people, my faith is in the Most High. I have turned myself over to him, for him to do his will."

She said neither man realised, "It still have another place that they have to face. Even though they faced (judgement) here, whatever happens...this is man's law..."

Bharat said the judgment awaiting Mitchell and Chatoo "is worse than this one."

On the trial she said, "This is the system and I am grateful that the system finally brought it to an end."

In a separate interview, days after the verdict, residents of Orange Valley told Newsday, nobody there wanted his killers ever to be released from prison.

They said the pain and shock was “still very much real” in the community and they had neither forgotten the horrifying incident nor forgiven the killers.