Prosecution closes its case in Maitland trial
Ainsworth Morris / Our Today
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Prosecutors in the murder trial of Constable Noel Maitland closed their case on Monday, bringing the case close to a conclusion.
The seven-member jury, comprising three women and four men, has heard evidence from 36 witnesses in the Home Circuit Court for eight months, starting in May.
After the prosecution closed its case on Monday, Maitland’s defence team indicated that they will be seeking to have the matter dismissed on the grounds that the prosecution had not proven its case against their client beyond a reasonable doubt.
Maitland is on trial for murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse in relation to the July 12, 2022, disappearance of his girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson.
Donaldson was last seen alive at the Chelsea Manor Apartment complex in St Andrew, where Maitland lived.
A detective inspector who was the lead investigator in the case was the final witness to testify in the matter on Monday.
During cross-examination conducted by King’s Counsel Larry Smith, who is one of Maitland’s five attorneys, the detective said he was aware that Donaldson was a social media personality. On the other hand, he admitted that he did not check any of her social media pages to see if she had problems with anyone.
The attorney asked the witness if it came to his knowledge that Donaldson had a feud with Kathanya Smith, who shares a child with Maitland.
Smith, who was also a district constable, was named as a person of interest in the case and at one point was placed on a watchlist with the police asking the Passport, Immigration, and Citizenship Agency to notify them whenever she left or entered Jamaica.
After promising to give a statement in the case, Smith subsequently declined, claiming that her uncle, who was also a district constable, had advised her not to do so.
As part of the probe into Donaldson’s disappearance, detectives had requested that motor vehicles driven by Maitland and Smith be monitored on the JamaicaEye closed-circuit television system.
Smith then left the island.
On Monday, King’s Counsel Smith asked why a district constable would instruct his niece, who is also a district constable, not to give a statement on the matter.
In relation to a controversial couch in the case, the detective inspector said that it had been altered while in police custody and that the alteration had taken place in Maitland’s absence.
The other attorneys representing Maitland are Chadwick Berry, Christopher Townsend, Sanjay Smith, and Kaysian Kennedy-Sherman.
Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson and Loriann Tugwell are representing the Crown.
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