Closing statements for the murder trial of Inis Remoket were delivered on the morning of Friday, August 7, bringing the five-day court case to an end. Mr. Remoket now awaits the judge’s verdict.
The defendant is accused of murdering his wife Ochob Jaycee Iyar Soto in September 2016 and disposing of her body in the ocean.
During her closing statement, the Prosecuting Attorney, Ms. Rebecca Sullivan of the Attorney General’s Office, urged the judge to take into account both the direct and circumstantial evidence of the case, which, she said, are “equally relevant”.
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth,” Ms. Sullivan said, quoting Sherlock Holmes.
Ms. Sullivan called 22 witnesses to testify throughout the trial, including forensic specialists, eyewitnesses, and law enforcement officers involved in the case.
Her closing statement referenced eyewitness accounts which placed Mr. Remoket as the last person seen with his wife Jaycee on the night of her disappearance, as well as other accounts which described the defendant as being found “asleep and bloody” the morning after. She also referenced Mr. Remoket’s abusive behavior towards Jaycee in the past and his evasiveness during police questioning, all of which point to what she described as “the only reasonable conclusion about what happened”.
During his closing statement, the Defense Attorney, Mr. Aster Takeshi of the Office of the Public Defender, described the evidence presented by witnesses as “all circumstantial”, claiming that the prosecution was making too many assumptions about Mr. Remoket’s behavior. He also insisted that an undue amount of attention was placed on the defendant, at the expense of other possibilities.
“From the beginning of the investigation, it’s very obvious that everything was zoned in on [Inis Remoket],” Mr. Takeshi said, going on to describe how Mr. Remoket was forced to undergo “interview after interview after interview”, while other suspects were questioned minimally.
The Defense Attorneys, Mr. Takeshi and Ms. Repeka Varasikete, called no witnesses to testify, but questioned the prosecution’s witnesses.
Mr. Remoket waived his right to a trial by jury. This means that the presiding judge, the Honorable Oldiais Ngiraikelau, will alone determine the verdict based on the evidence presented.
At the close of the trial, Chief Justice Ngiraikelau said that he would take into account all evidence and arrive at a verdict after due deliberation