a passport

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Police Constable Leon George, the policeman who captured images of the scene where the remains ofMurdered:Neesa Gopualmurdered Queen’s College student, Neesa Gopaul, were discovered, continued his evidence yesterday before the Judge and Jury in the High Court trial of Bibi Shareema Gopaul and Jarvis ‘Barry’ Small.Days after she was reported missing the teen’s body was found at a location along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway tucked inside a suitcase that was partially submerged in a creek. A rope was wrapped around the body and on its other end dumbbells were attached, apparently in an effort to keep the body under water.A family on an outing made the discovery when they became aware of an offensive smell.Inside the suitcase, a passport (Number 0730108) bearing the name Neesa Lalita Gopaul, along with a bank card, was found. Following investigations, the teen’s mother Bibi and her then lover, Small, were arrested and charged for the murder.Gopaul and Small are currently on trial before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed 12-member jury for the murder.Small is being represented by a team of lawyers including Glenn Hanoman, Bernard De Santos SC, Lyndon Amsterdam and Zanna Frank, while Gopaul is being represented by Attorney-at-Law, George Thomas.On Thursday, 25 photographs taken at the scene where the remains of murdered teen had beenMurdered Accused: Jarvis Barry Smalldiscovered were tendered as part of the evidence in the trial.Yesterday, Police Constable Leon George returned to the stand and shared descriptive details of the photographs he took of the scene on October 2, 2010; the date the body was found at the resort. He described the photos before handing them to members of the jury, who also looked at them.George detailed that the photographs were taken of the entrance, surrounding the creek at Emerald Tower Resort, Linden/Soesdkye Highway; he spoke of police officers retrieving a black bag containing remains of a female, a passport, and bank card.  The passport, the witness noted bore, the name Neesa Gopaul.As the officer spoke, Gopaul wept silently; her lips quivered and she began to hyperventilate. The woman was seen using an inhaler, something that is used in cases of asthmatic attacks. At some points, Gopaul was seen rocking from side to side as she sat beside Small in the prisoner’s dock.Under cross examination by Hanoman, the witness told the court that he visited the scene where the body was discovered and took photographs on two separate occasions. After clarifying that it was Emerald Tower Resort not Madewini that he visited and took the photographic exposures, George said that he used the same camera and roll of film to take the photographs.George said that some of the films had been spoilt during the development process when he was questioned by the lawyer. He however noted that he could give a figure or estimation for the number of frames heMurder Accused: Bibi Shareema Gopaulexposed.In response to a question posed by the attorney, the witness told the court that he took photos of a bag as it lay in the water, but noted that the photographs are among the exposures that were damaged.The witness said that he could tell the sequence in which the photos were taken by looking at the negatives. He explained that the first time he visited the scene he took pictures of the entrance and surrounding of the resort before capturing images of the bag in the creek and its contents.Asked whether he recalled the time he had gone to the scene and how long he had spent taking the photographs, the witness said that he could not say.  George none-the-less agreed that the matter is one of the more high profile cases he had been a part of.Again, Hanoman asked George since it was such a high profile matter whether he knew what time he had arrived at the scene on the second occasion. He maintained that he could not recall the time.“Did you record the time in your statement?” the Lawyer asked. The witness responded in the affirmative.Hanoman then requested that George be provided with the information in his statement to refresh his memory on the time.At this stage, Prosecutor Kaulesar read an excerpt from George’s statement.  According to the excerpt, Kaulesar said that George would have arrived at the scene at 13:00 hours on October 4, 2010.The lawyer then asked George if he knew the purpose of visiting the scene, the second time.  He responded that he had accompanied “Corporal Landry” to the area where the body was found to retrieve weights, (dumbbells).Hanoman went on to ask George if he had inquired from Corporal Landry if he knew how the weights got there.However before the witness could have provided answer, Prosecutor Kaulesar objected to the question noting that the response of the witness would be termed “hearsay.”The Judge noted the prosecution objection to the line of questioning.  He told the attorney that he is permitted to ask a question but the witness will not be allowed to provide an answer since it would be based on what Corporal Landry would have said to him which is not necessarily part of the evidence.Hanoman subsequently asked the witness whether he had inquired from Landry what his source of information was. “No I didn’t,” George responded.After arriving at the scene, George said that he took one photograph of the dumbbells.  At some points of the cross examination, the witness became hesitant in providing a response to the questions; most times he responded by saying “I could not say” and “I can’t recall.”At this juncture, Hanoman asked the witness whether he had done anything else at the scene besides taking photographs. George told the court that he had assisted the officer in retrieving items from the water.  Hanoman then asked George to specify in what manner he assisted.  He responded by stating that he held the Corporal’s hand.“You held his hand … that sounds romantic,” the lawyer said to the amusement of the jury and those seated in the court audience.The witness then clarified that he helped Landry carry a suitcase out of the water.He said that he thereafter took photographs of the content; the female remains and such but noted that he did take any pictures of the pages of passports.Under cross examination by defence attorney, George Thomas, the policeman further confirmed that he had not seen nor was he told about the dumbbells on the first occasion he visited the crime scene.  He noted that he could not say whether someone had placed them at the scene.