The trial of Shakti Ramsurrun, a 33-year-old Mauritian accused of killing his wife and her parents in 2012, has begun on May 11, after 60 months detention.

Back in 2009, Shakti Ramsurrun was working as a waiter on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Explorer of the seas, when he meet Anne-Katherine Powers and her parents on a cruise.  After the ten-day Caribbean voyage, Anne-Katherine and Shakti become much closer. "On disembarkation day, Anne-Katherine did not want to leave the ship. We exchanged our phone numbers and e-mail addresses. She asked me, "Do you love me?" And she said, "If you love me, I love you too." In the evening I called her on her cell phone. She was on her way to Quebec. She was glad I called her, “states in his testimony.

Giving a chance of the relationship which was developing between Anne-Katherine and Shakti, her family took on the second cruise in April 2010. During the cruise, Anne-Katherine and Shakti spend all free time together and decided to get married. After spending three months in Mauritius they move to Canada in Anne’s parents’ house together with their baby boy.

Shortly after the relationship had turned sour and Anne-Katherine wanted to separate, but the couple still lived together. Shakti moved to the basement of the family home with Anne’s parents. The family wants him to leave the house, but the young father didn’t want another person to take his place with his child.

Even though he was in the same house as the rest of the family, Shakti Ramsurrun sees his child less and less. His mother-in-law imposes a daily limit on the time spent between the young father and his son. It also prevents him from taking the child to the daycare.

Shakti Ramsurrun is completely defeated when in May 2012 police found the victims and he is accused of premeditated killing his wife, Anne-Katherine Powers, her mother, Louise Leboeuf and her stepfather, Claude Levesque, at their residence in the Aylmer.

The accused testified in court, describing in detail how he met Anne.

It was December 12, 2009, aboard the Explorer of the seas, a majestic cruise ship on which Ramsurrun worked as a waiter.

"The doors of the restaurant opened at 6 am. Anne-Katherine Powers, Claude Lévesque and Louise Leboeuf entered. I welcomed them. Once they were seated, "they told me they are from Quebec, Canada, and explained the provinces to me."

After a childhood spent growing onions on family land and an adolescence working on a golf course - as Mauritius began to open up to tourists - the young man turned to restoration.

Then, an old friend suggested applying to work on the cruise ship of the Miami-based company.  

"I wanted to help my poor family. I wanted to build a house for my parents, one for me and open a restaurant, "the accused pointed out to the jury.

The restaurant on the cruise ship, "it looked like heaven. It was beautiful. It could hold 1500 people on three floors. On the second day of the Lévesque-Leboeuf family cruise, "we had conversations, we laughed. I talked a lot to Louise. I told her where I came from. She was asking me questions, I was answering. I did not even know the name of Anne-Katherine and Claude. "

Next day, the ship was in Coco Cay, "Louise asked me if I could show the island to Anne-Katherine," But I could not (it was against the internal rules of the company). Then, at one point, I decided to take the risk by saying yes. "

"We left in the morning. Anne-Katherine was waiting for me. We were not even friends. We were like strangers. We talked, we met. Then I told her she was really beautiful. She wanted to drink Pina colada, but she could not order since she was not 21 years old. So I took my (employee) card and I ordered two. "

"The next day, I explained to Anne-Katherine and her parents that I could no longer take any risk (as the day before)," continued Ramsurrun.

"In the morning, Anne-Katherine did not want to leave the ship. We exchanged our phone numbers and e-mail addresses. She asked me, "Do you love me?" And she said, "If you love me, I love you." In the evening, I called her on a cell phone. She was on her way to Quebec. She was glad I called her. "

Over the next few months, they got to know each other better, by e-mail and talking to each other for "an hour, an hour and a half," six nights a week.

In April 2010, four months after the first, Katherine Anne-Louise and Claude, this time accompanied by friends who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, meet for a second cruise.

"I asked the captain for special permission to spend time with my fiancée. When we saw each other, Anne-Katherine and I were already in love. I brought her to the 13th floor and I kissed her. This is the first time we kissed. The first days, we walked on the ship until 1 am. Then, after an evening spent in a Bermuda nightclub, we were very close. We were ready to move on to another stage."

Given the seriousness of the relationship that was developing between Anne-Katherine and Shakti, "Louise wanted to send her daughter to Mauritius so that she could live an adventure. She wanted her to know my family, my religion, my life. I told her I was going to protect her, "Ramsurrun told the jury.

"Louise wanted me to quit my job on the ship. She wanted me to come to Canada to make more money. In May I resigned. "And the young woman joined her lover in New York to take a flight to Mauritius where they were to stay for three months.

"During the first month, we were shopping almost every day. We received a lot of invitations. We often went to the beach. We talked, we looked at the stars, and we planned. It was not planned, but we financed, "detailed the accused before the court adjourned at the end of the day.

Shakti Ramsurrun testimony will continue on Friday.