Extradition hearing begins in beauty queen killing

In his submissions, the attorney objected to the warrant for the arrest of 60-year-old Trinidadian David Winfield Mitchell, who is to be extradited for the murder of a beauty queen in the US. Gokool told the court there is no evidence to justify the extradition and he requested that the court withdraw the warrant due to inadequate facts.

“It is the court’s responsibility to protect the sovereignty of Trinidad and Tobago from the intervention of foreign states,” he said. “The extradition is nothing but a disguise to kidnap the defendant in order to terrorise and mistreat him so he can confess to something he did not do.”

Gokool then made an application for the matter to be adjourned.

However, attorney for the requesting state, David West, contended that the documents for extradition have been deemed satisfactory by the Attorney General’s Office and that the warrant for his arrest should not be withdrawn, and that the case should proceed.

The hearing then began as Cheryl Blackman, Permanent Secretary of the Attorney General’s Office, took the stand, followed by PC Herman Narace of Interpol Bureau.

Mitchell is a suspect in the murder of American beauty queen, Sheila Harris, who was found dead in her apartment in Carson City, Nevada, in 1982. A post-mortem report revealed the 18-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled. Shortly after the murder Mitchell was reportedly deported to Trinidad for residing illegally in the US.

Hearing will continue on August 30.