Hamilton man set free, fined $36K in St. Lucia boy’s death

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After two years in St. Lucia, a Hamilton man is free to come back home after changing his plea to guilty in the drowning death of a four year old island boy.

35 year old Sahab Jamshidi was kite surfing on the beach in St. Lucia with his friends, when four year old T.J Elibox drowned in the rough waters of the Atlantic ocean. The boys grandmother’s church group claimed that Jamshidi took the boy on his surf board and dropped him. For two years Jamshidi said he saw the boy struggling in the water and tried to help. But after years of sticking to his innocence, his friends were surprised that Jamshidi decided to plead guilty .

“On the first day of trial he picked us up and he said my lawyers are convincing me to take a guilty plea and we were shocked.”

Jamshidi’s passport was stripped from him and he was unable to travel.  Jamshidi’s friends Greg Santilly and Stephen Verbeek went to St. Lucia to visit.  His trial was postponed several times and not knowing how long the ordeal would take, Verbeek says he thinks his friend made the right decision.

Jamshidi was charged with gross negligence causing death and could have been sent to prison for life but in an apparent deal was ordered to pay the boys family $36 000. His friends say his passport has been returned and he will be arriving in Canada Friday night.

Jamshidi went to medical school in St. Lucia and his friends say they hope employers will look past this conviction and understand the judicial challenges there.