Vanessa Kirkland murder trial | Defence to continue cross-examination of INDECOM investigator
Published:Friday | January 25, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Despite a challenge by the prosecution, the defence was to admit a .38 revolver firearm into evidence as the trial for the three cops charged with the 2012 murder of 16-year-old schoolgirl Vanessa Kirkland continued yesterday at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston.
During the proceedings, it was revealed that the firearm was shown to Independent Commission of Investigations forensic analyst Kathrina Graham at the Hunts Bay Police Station some hours after she processed the scene.
Lead prosecutor Kathy-Ann Pyke said that the firearm should not be admitted into evidence because its origin, by way of chain of custody, had not been established.
But attorney-at-law Peter Champagnie said that the witness could not speak to the origin of any piece of evidence in the case and asserted that the gun was relevant to the defence’s case.
He further stated that the issue of the gun first arose in examination-in-chief.
However, Pyke said that this did not preclude the requirement for relevance to be proven. She added that someone would need to relate the gun to the incident to establish the origin of the gun.
Presiding judge, Justice Carol Lawrence-Beswick, allowed the gun into evidence.
Graham, who was being cross-examined by Champagnie, acknowledged that Portmore toll receipts were found in the vehicle when she did her analysis. She also said that keys were in the rear passenger area of the car.
Earlier in the proceedings, the seven-member jury was shown pictures of the incident scene as well as bullet fragments, M16 cartridge casings, and other material that were recovered from the scene.
Allegations are that the three police constables drove on to Norman Lane in St Andrew shortly after 9 p.m. on March 20, 2012, and opened fire on a blue Suzuki Swift motor car, which was parked along the road.
Kirkland, who was one of seven occupants of the vehicle, was killed on the spot.
Anna-Kay Bailey, Durvin Hayles, and Andrewain Smith are on trial for Kirkland’s murder.
The trial continues today when Graham will undergo further cross-examination.