THE High Court in Suva has convicted Anare Vuli Cilicewa of the brutal murder of Sabreen Shaheen Ali, also known as Sabrina.
Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu yesterday found the State had proved the murder charge beyond reasonable doubt after considering the evidence of 10 prosecution witnesses, agreed facts and exhibits tendered during the trial.
In his judgment, Justice Bulamainaivalu rejected Cilicewa’s evidence, finding that he was not a credible or reliable witness.
According to evidence presented during the trial, the 28-year-old victim sustained severe injuries during an initial dispute inside a house in Raiwaqa, where she was stabbed with a broken wine bottle on September 8, 2024.
Court testimonies revealed that when an occupant of the house attempted to take Ms Ali to the hospital, Cilicewa threatened them against seeking help.
The court heard that in a subsequent attack, Cilicewa gagged Ms Ali using a condom stuffed with cloth, strangled her with an electrical cord, and bound her hands and feet.
Her body, wrapped in a white bedsheet, was later dragged to a basement room and hidden beneath a wooden bed. Police recovered the victim’s body on the evening of September 9, 2024, following a report made by the owner of the property.
The judge accepted the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, ruling that it remained credible and reliable.
Cilicewa has been further remanded in custody with a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday next week.
