The trial of Walid Kesserwani, a Double Bay chiropractor facing domestic violence charges, has taken a new turn with defense lawyers questioning the extensive communications between the alleged victim and the senior investigating officer. Kesserwani, 44, was charged in June of last year with choking and assaulting his former girlfriend, Ludivine Elisabeth.
During a hearing at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday, Kesserwani's barrister, Greg Stanton, objected to the prosecution's request for an adjournment. Ms. Elisabeth, who runs a luxury travel consultancy, was reportedly unable to travel from France to testify due to illness, providing a medical certificate in French. Stanton questioned the certificate's reliability and raised concerns about the relationship between Ms. Elisabeth and Chief Inspector Gary Coffey, who is leading the investigation.
Stanton told the court that Kesserwani's legal team had obtained 80 pages of communications between Chief Inspector Coffey and Ms. Elisabeth, describing some of the exchanges as "private." He highlighted "lengthy phone calls in the early hours of the morning" and online meetings, the details of which had not been disclosed to the defense. "We have no confidence in what has been disclosed to date," Stanton stated.
He also pointed to an email from Chief Inspector Coffey to Ms. Elisabeth, sent while she was overseas, which read: "Hope you're having a nice time in Bali."
According to court proceedings, police initially indicated they did not intend to charge Kesserwani. However, following Chief Inspector Coffey's involvement, Kesserwani was charged on June 9 of last year with one count of intentionally choking a person without consent and three counts of common assault. The alleged choking incident occurred on July 17, 2024, in Barangaroo, with the assault charges relating to incidents on February 13, 2025, and September 6 and December 13, 2024.
Stanton argued that the manner and reason for Chief Inspector Coffey taking charge of the investigation remained unexplained. He noted that Coffey was the sole officer to take statements from witnesses and had been Ms. Elisabeth's only point of contact with the police since the charges were laid.
Kesserwani has pleaded not guilty to all charges. A previous hearing scheduled for May was vacated due to the allocated judge's unavailability. Ms. Elisabeth had planned to return to Australia for the Thursday hearing, booking a flight to arrive on Tuesday. However, on July 29, she received a medical certificate stating she could not fly for 10 days due to acute sinusitis. While the prosecution sought to have the certificate translated, Judge Christopher Halburd noted he could understand its basic meaning in French. Kesserwani, who speaks French, reportedly had no issue with the AI translation provided.
The court heard that organizing evidence by audio-visual link could take three to eight months. Stanton emphasized the "significant costs" Kesserwani had incurred due to the first hearing's abandonment and ongoing reputational harm. He also noted that Ms. Elisabeth had indicated she would report Kesserwani to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Judge Halburd acknowledged the case's "unfortunate procedural history" and granted the adjournment, stating it was in the interest of justice. He observed that the case exhibited "constant contact" between the complainant and the officer-in-charge, which was "at the other end of the scale" compared to some matters with limited interaction.
The case was subsequently listed for mention in January of next year after Chief Inspector Coffey was asked to consult with Ms. Elisabeth regarding her availability. Stanton remarked that the Chief Inspector had "no problem communicating with her in the past at one o'clock in the morning."