…….”Refuses to give DNA sample to Police”
BY FRANCIS JOSEPH
Hours after her return to the country from Panama, Kaia Sealy was granted bail in the sum of $700,000.
But her attorneys refused a request from the State to supply DNA samples to the police.
Sealey appeared virtually before Master Nazeera Ali in the Tunapuna Police Station on Wednesday morning.
Sealy, 25, is charged with the manslaughter of her boyfriend, Joshua Samaroo, 31, and a series of firearm-related offences arising out of the police-involved shooting at the corner of College Road and Bassie Street Extension, St Augustine, on January 20.
She is accused of unlawfully killing Samaroo and shooting at three police officers – Quincy Simon, Daryl Bartholomew and Gary Duncan.
She also faces charges of possessing a pistol, possessing two rounds of 9 mm ammunition, possessing a firearm to endanger life, and discharging a firearm within 40 metres of a public road.
Master Ali granted Sealy bail in the sum of $700,000 with one surety.
State prosecutor Anthony Jacob told the court that the prosecution would rely on 30 witnesses and 42 witness statements, along with several exhibits, including certificates of analysis, toxicology reports, a post-mortem report, and other physical evidence.
Jacob also requested a DNA sample from Sealy, but she declined to provide one on the advice of her attorneys.
Defence attorney Larry Williams, who appeared with attorney Fayola Sandy, questioned the purpose of obtaining the DNA sample.
He asked, “What is it to be compared against?”
Jacob replied that investigators had recovered DNA samples from the vehicle involved in the incident. Williams said any DNA recovered would obviously be blood. He said there was no dispute that Sealy had been inside the vehicle.
Jacob informed the court that the case file would be sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) within the next 30 days for the appointment of a State Attorney.
The prosecution was ordered to serve its witness statements by August 24, while the defence has until September 25 to respond.
A status hearing has been fixed for October 8, with the sufficiency hearing set for October 22.
During the hearing, Williams also applied for bail, saying Sealy is the mother of a five-year-old child and requires periodic travel to Boston, United States, for ongoing medical treatment and rehabilitation following the shooting.
He argued that Sealy posed no flight risk, saying she had voluntarily returned to Trinidad and Tobago after receiving medical treatment abroad and would continue to return whenever required by the court.
Williams said that while in the United States she would reside at an address in Massachusetts, and locally she would live with her mother in Champ Fleurs.
The prosecution did not oppose bail.
Jacob said that while the State normally requests the surrender of a defendant’s passport in such cases, it would not be making that application. Instead, the prosecution asked that it be notified whenever Sealy intends to leave the country.
