VIDEO: Court struggling to fix date for murder trial

Sunday 12 August 2018

Complications over legal teams and the availability of expert witnesses means a murder trial that should have started later this month, might not now happen until March next year.

Fifty-nine-year-old Alfredo da Costa Rebelo, is charged with murdering his wife, 51-year-old Ana Rebelo, at their home in Victoria Street in April, and the trial was expected to start on 25 August. He denies the offence.

Pictured: Mr Rebelo arriving at the Royal Court. His trial might not now take place until March.

But, prosecuting lawyer, Advocate Howard Sharp, told the Royal Court because Mr Rebelo’s lawyer had fallen ill it had been necessary to find a new lawyer, and this had led to a delay.

He also said, unfortunately just moving the date was proving difficult because there aren’t many gaps in the Court’s calendar. Added to this was the complication of finding a date when all the expert witnesses who are having travel from the UK to give evidence was proving troublesome because their availability didn’t marry up.

Summing up he said it might not be possible to hold the trial until March, a situation he described as “not ideal’.

Commissioner Sir Michael Birt, who was hearing the case agreed. He suggested the expert witnesses be contacted to find out when they were available, and that the Court should then do its best to work around those dates.

Pictured: Mr Rebelo is charged with murdering his wife, Ana, in April.

The Court will get a progress update in three weeks’ time. In the meantime, Mr Rebelo has been remanded in custody.