Accused’s statement wasn’t coerced in US missionaries murder case, says cop

A retired deputy superin-tendent of police, who disclosed that accused murderer Andre Thomas had told him that it was his cousin who had killed the two American missionaries in St Mary in 2016, yesterday strongly dismissed the defence’s claim that Thomas was beaten and coerced into giving the police a statement.

The police witness, who was among a police team that visited Thomas while he was in custody at Richmond Police Station and was also shown the murder scene, insisted that he and other law enforcers had cautioned Thomas about his rights to remain silent or to have a lawyer present, but he proceeded to speak.

Thomas, who was charged with the murders of 48-year-old Randy Hentzel and 53-year-old Harold Nichols, is currently being tried in the Home Circuit Court.

A St Mary farmer, Dwight Henry, 33, was also charged in the matter but pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in January under a plea deal and was sentenced to 28 years to life.

The two missionaries were found dead in Wentworth district in St Mary between April 30 and May 1, 2016.

They were reportedly last seen alive when they left Tower Isle, St Mary, on motorcycles about 8 a.m. on April 30, 2016.

Henry, the prosecution’s main witness, earlier testified at the trial that both he and Thomas had each shot and killed one of the missionaries.

He also added that Thomas had chopped the man who he shot in his head multiple times.

Caution statement

But the retired policeman yesterday, in his evidence, testified that Thomas gave him a caution statement in which he asserted that Henry was responsible for killing both men and that he had told him [Thomas] that “mi affi mek some duppy this year”, after pointing out that he, Thomas, was “chickening out”.

Thomas also claimed that Henry told him that “whiteman slave wi”, but he told Henry that “him nuh deh pon da one yah”.

Thomas reportedly told the police that on the morning of the murder, he met Henry in Port Maria and that they both travelled to Henry’s father’s house in Wentworth, where they had porridge. The retired officer said the defendant also showed the police the spot where they met.

Thomas, further in the recorded caution statement, which was read in court after being tendered into evidence, said that while he was waiting for Henry at his father’s house, he called him on his phone and told him to come to look at the motorcycles, and when he went up into the bushes, he saw one of the white men lying on the ground with his hands bound.

He alleged further that the other man ran, and Henry fired at him and missed but chased and shot and chopped him.

According to Thomas, Henry returned and shot the other man in the head. However, before doing so, he searched his pocket and took his wallet and phone.

The retired officer, during his testimony, said Thomas gave the caution statement after pulling him away while he was at Henry’s father’s home, saying, “Mi a go tell you how it go. A Dwight kill de white man dem”.

The retired officer told the court that Thomas voluntarily gave the statement and that he had not beaten, forced, or offered any incentive.

Told him his rights

But the witness said that before Thomas spoke, he told him of his rights and that whatever he said would be used against him as evidence, but he insisted on speaking while saying he was fine.

The retired policeman also recalled that Thomas was cautioned more than once while taking the police team to the scene, and after he left, said “he wanted to clear his conscience. Mi a go tell unuh how it go”, and was again cautioned by the investigating officer, but he said he did not want a lawyer.

However, attorney-at-law Leroy Equiano, during cross-examination, asked the witness if he had not “boxed” and “punched” his client the night before they went to the murder scene.

“No, sir! Absolutely, not!” the retired officer said. “I did not do him anything.”

He also denied offering Thomas a bun and cheese and a cigarette.

Pressed further about whether anyone was present in the bushes to represent Thomas, the police witness said that “the circumstances at the time did not call for that” and that there was no need to turn back when they were up in the bushes on the long “hard walk” to get a lawyer as Thomas had volunteered the information.

In the meanwhile, two prosecution witnesses, a retired district officer and a policewoman who was a part of the team that went into the bushes with Thomas, testified that he told them that he wanted to speak with the investigating officer.

The woman sergeant said she had witnessed her colleagues cautioning Thomas.

The retired district constable told the court that Thomas, while in custody at Richmond Police Station, asked him twice to contact the investigating officer and that the last contact was to inform him that he wanted to speak to him in person.

He, too, recalled that Thomas was in good physical condition and made no complaints of being ill nor did he have any signs of bruises or “anything”.

The trial will continue today.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com