By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, Samoa – 09 July 2025 – The woman who claimed she was instructed to remove evidence linked to the death of Dr. Caroline Gabbard, has entered a not guilty plea to the 19 charges served by police against her.

Lise Marie Schmidt entered the plea through her lawyer, Maposua Tanya Toailoa yesterday and the hearing is now scheduled for February 2026.

The charges against Lise stemmed from a letter she wrote to the Attorney General and copied the Minister of Police and Police Commissioner where claimed she was allegedly instructed by Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa to retrieve evidence that is allegedly linked to the death of Dr. Caroline Gabbard.

The allegations were investigated by police that found no evidence to prove the allegations, and led Lise being charged for fabrication of information, misleading information which led to the risk of investigating the Prime Minister.