"We just want it to end"

Saturday 06 April 2019

Six years on, Vic and Kate Groves are still pushing forward relentlessly for some semblance of justice to be served in the name of their daughter.

They say the murder of 24-year-old Sarah in 2013 in Kashmir, India - and the ongoing subsequent trial - could not have taken place in a more volatile part of the world.

Little progress over six years and 151 trial dates; incompetence, visible corruption, civil unrest and a country on the edge of war are only the most obvious setbacks the Groves family have had to endure over the six years. 

Despite this, Mrs Groves said they will see it through to the end: “As long as I have breath in my body, for Sarah.”

This time of year is hard for the Groves’ who this weekend will mark another 12 months since the murder on 6 April, and then since the trial began against Dutch national Richard de Wit on 3 June 2013.  

He was apprehended fleeing the scene, not far from the houseboat in which Sarah was found dead having sustained 48 stab wounds. He has always denied the charges against him. 

“I asked him if he did it and asked him if he would look me in the eye and plead not guilty if the trial started again," said Mr Groves on meeting the accused. "He looked me in the eye and shook my hand and told me he didn’t do it, and did so on two visits. By all accounts, people in his position with his mental condition can say or do anything to sound convincing, but it certainly makes it difficult.”

Pictured: Sarah Groves, and Richard de Wit, who denies murdering her six years ago. 

Now the Groves family have simple requests which they have made via a letter to the most senior Judge in the region to keep the momentum up for the trial. 

“There’s the non-appearance of witnesses which we feel we can do something about, that wouldn’t be tolerated in most jurisdictions of the world,” said Mr Groves. 

Mr Groves said 2018 was a very frustrating year for Sarah's family, with no progress having been made in her murder trial for more than five months.

“My hope would be that we get a reply, more regular hearings, a new prosecution lawyer – he goes AWOL, he’s just not in court sometimes, he’s doing other stuff, he’s failed to bring witnesses in, he’s failed to follow up on court orders. We’re trying to get him replaced, those are the next possible steps. 

“If we can get a dialogue going on and get some of these things implemented then we might just see from May onwards an improvement in the progress."

Pictured top: Kate and Vic Groves (All pics by Chris George)