Dane Gillett may have been murdered last year, but today the Court of Appeal ruled that he should have stood trial for Dwayne Gabourel's murder.
In a landmark legal reversal, the Court of Appeal ruled today that a trial judge erred in law when he acquitted Gillett for the 2021 murder of 15-year-old SJC student Gabourel.
While the decision marks a significant victory for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the victory remains symbolic as the respondent, Dane Gillett, was murdered in October 2025, months before the appeal could be finalized.
In February 2025 Justice Sylvester upheld a no-case submission, ruling that the evidence against Gillett was too scant to present to a jury. At the time, the DPP said, "We strongly, though respectfully, disagree with every single finding of the trial judge." The Court of Appeal has now validated that stance, faulting the lower court for embarking on a fact-finding exercise and concluded that "the trial judge erred in law and a miscarriage of justice occurred." While the Court formally set aside the acquittal and noted that a retrial would have been the standard remedy, the proceedings have been officially closed due to Gillett's death. The ruling serves as a final, if academic, judicial pronouncement on a high profile case that has haunted the community since the young student's tragic murder.
