Kaia Sealy granted $700,000 bail hours after returning to Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago: Kaia Sealy has been released on bail in the sum of $700,000 hours after returning to Trinidad and Tobago from Panama. This comes after she was arrested at the Piarco International Airport during the early hours of Wednesday June 17th.

The accused reportedly appeared virtually before the court and was granted a bail by Master Nazeera Ali. Sealy is charged with the manslaughter of her boyfriend, Joshua Samaroo, 31 and police-involved shooting at the corner of College Road and Bassie Street Extension, St Augustine, on January 20.

She is currently facing allegations for manslaughter, multiple firearm-related offences, possession of firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm near a public roadway and shooting at three police officers, named Quincy Simon, Daryl Bartholomew and Gary Duncan.

State prosecutor Anthony Jacob told the court that prosecution would rely on 30 witnesses, 42 witness statements and forensic reports. Jacob also requested a DNA sample from Sealy. However, she declined to provide it after consulting with her legal team.

Defence attorney Larry Williams along with attorney Fayola Sandy, raised an objection and questioned the purpose of obtaining the DNA sample. “What is it to be compared against?” He questioned.

Jacob stated that investigators had recovered DNA samples from the vehicle involved in the incident.  Williams argued that there was no dispute that Sealy had been inside the vehicle and suggested that any DNA recovered from the vehicle would not be unexpected.

Jacob further informed the court that the case file will soon be transferred  to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) within the next 30 days for the appointment of a State Attorney.

As part of the case management process, the prosecution was ordered to disclose its witness statements by August 24, while the defence has until September 25 to respond. A status hearing has been scheduled for October 8, with the sufficiency hearing fixed on October 22.

During the hearing, Williams also successfully applied for bail, citing Sealy is the mother of a five-year-old child and her ongoing medical challenges that needs her to travel periodically to Boston, United States, for ongoing medical treatment and rehabilitation following the shooting.

He argued that Sealy has been civil and demonstrated her willingness to comply with court as she voluntarily returned to Trinidad and Tobago after receiving medical treatment abroad and would continue to return whenever required by the court noting that Sealy poses no flight risk.

Williams further mentioned that while in the United States, Sealy would reside at an address in Massachusetts, and locally she would reside with her mother in Champ Fleurs.

The court did not oppose the bail application. However, prosecutors stopped short of requesting the surrender of Sealy’s passport and requested that authorities be notified whenever Sealy intends to leave the country.