New York Local News

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBS/AP) ― An Indonesian woman came face-to-face Thursday with a millionaire couple accused of keeping her and another woman as virtual slaves in their Long Island mansion for the first time since she fled the home with only the clothes on her back.

The 51-year-old woman, identified only as Samirah, testified for the prosecution in the trial of Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, and his wife, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 45.


Samirah a small womany under five-feet, was dressed in a black pantsuit, white shirt, and gold earrings. She spoke loudly, clearly, almost defiantly, seated next to a court appointed interpeter. Her responses were sprinkled with flashes of anger, at times choking back tears.

When Samirah was asked about her five children she left behind in Indonesia, she glared at her employers, pointed at Varsha and exclaimed: "My son Irwin died. The Missus put a spell on him."

The defense had already told jurors the maids practiced withcraft-and even self-mutilation.

The remainder of the Sabhnani's trial promises to be jsut as colorful, emotional and sensitive.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to a 12-count federal indictment accusing them of conspiracy, involuntary servitude and other charges. They are accused of bringing Samirah and another woman to the United States to work as housekeepers in their Muttontown mansion, paying them $100 a month and subjecting them to physical and psychological abuse in what a prosecutor called a "case of modern day slavery."

Their defense attorneys suggested in their opening statements earlier this week that the Sabhnanis were the victims of a "rush to judgment" by prosecutors, and said there were other explanations for some of the accusations.

They suggested that the housekeepers engaged in witchcraft, may have abused themselves as part of an Indonesian self-mutilation ritual, and noted the Sabhnanis went on frequent vacations that would have provided the two women ample opportunity to flee.  

Samirah stared briefly at the couple when she entered the courtroom to begin to testify, but then immediately turned her back to them.  She burst into tears at the end of the court session when she again briefly made eye contact with the Sabhnanis.

Following a mid-afternoon recess, defense attorney Stephen Scaring complained to U.S. District Court Judge Arthur D. Spatt that the court-appointed interpreter was not giving Samirah's answers verbatim; the defense has its own interpreter monitoring the testimony. Scaring pointed out that when Samirah was asked about the death of one of her sons, Erwin, in Indonesia, the interpreter initially did not completely provide the full answer.

Spatt also admonished the interpreter to provide Samirah's answers without further editing.

The Sabhnanis -- who operate a worldwide perfume business out of their Long Island home -- were arrested in May after Samirah, wearing tattered clothes, was found wandering outside a Long Island doughnut shop, pleading for help.

Authorities contend Samirah fled the Sabhnani home after enduring physical and psychological abuses. A second housekeeper, who came from Indonesia in 2005, was found hiding in a basement closet after authorities obtained a search warrant based on Samirah's claims.

The women were slashed with a knife and made to climb stairs repeatedly as punishment for various misdeeds, prosecutors say.  They claim that Samirah was forced to consume numerous hot chili peppers and later had to eat her own vomit after becoming sick from the peppers.

The Sabhnanis are free on $4.5 million bail but under house arrest; they have personally paid an estimated $10,000 a day for 24-hour security surveillance of them as part of the bail agreement. They spent nearly three months in jail before the bail agreement was arranged.

If convicted, the Sabhnanis, who have four children, could face 40 years in prison.

Samirah's testimony, which barely touched on her experiences with the Sabhnanis, was expected to continue Monday.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)