Trial begins today for Sahab Jamshidi

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Sahab Jamshidi of Ancaster is finally set to appear in a St. Lucia courtroom today following several delays spanning more than a year. The 34-year-old is charged in the drowning death of a four-year-old boy back in February 2015.

St. Lucia Police allege Terrell Joshua Elibox drowned after Jamshidi took him out on his kite board. Jamshidi, who was just finishing up medical school on the island, claims he was kite-surfing with friends when he spotted the young boy drowning and called for help. Jamshidi helped to lead a search party at the beach on the day of the drowning, the boy’s body was found two days later. Jamshidi spent six days in a police station holding cell before released on bail in March 2015. The Ancaster man was stripped of his passport and has been in St. Lucia ever since, confined to the island as he awaits trial. He faces a charge of causing death by gross negligence or recklessness, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison in St. Lucia.

Jamshidi has told investigators that he was on his kite board on the afternoon of February 22nd 2015, when he noticed Elibox drowning and tried to help him. During the rescue attempt, he says the boy grabbed onto him causing him to lose his balance and the board to flip.

Jamshidi’s family says their son is devastated, maintaining that he was only trying to save the young boy and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Elibox was with his family on a church-run beach outing when he drowned; his family claims he was taken by Jamshidi without permission for a kite-surfing ride. There was no one else around at the time of the incident, so Jamshidi is lacking witnesses to help back his version of events.

Bail for Jamshidi is set at $10,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars ( $4,625 CDN). Even though the trial begins today, his family says they are worried the trial could drag on for months or even years, because there are only two judges in the entire country.