‘Your way a di right way’

The Portland fisherman who confessed to being the contract killer in Tonia’s McDonald’s murder had reportedly offered to murder the woman, who he claimed was his lover, at his home.

Murder convict Denvalyn Minott made the revelation as he elaborated on one of the secretly recorded conversations he had with the woman’s husband, Everton ‘Beachy Stout’ McDonald, who, reportedly, hired him to carry out the killing.

The 48-year-old murder convict, who is currently serving 19 years in prison for his role in the murder plot, testified that he reluctantly agreed to kill Tonia after her husband offered him $3 million. However, he said he later made arrangements with Oscar Barnes, who he had met on a fishing beach in 2020, to carry out the killing.

Yesterday, during the trial in the Home Circuit Court, where both men are being tried for murder, McDonald was heard saying, “You know your way a di right way,” during the replay of one of the recordings

Minott, who was recalled to the stand to identify the voices in the recordings and to shed more light on the conversation, was heard asking, “How me did a deal with it?”

“Yeah, man,” McDonald answered.

The prosecutor then questioned what McDonald meant when he said “Your way a di right way”.

“Me tell him mek me do it over my yard, and him say my way a de right way. After him see it couldn’t work a fi him yard him say my way a di right way,” Minott answered.

Minott testified at the start of the trial that McDonald had instructed him to carry out the murder at the couple’s home.

In the same recording, McDonald and Minott also discussed how he wanted the murder to be done and the purchasing of two guns by Tonia.

The trial previously heard from Minott that Tonia wanted to buy a gun to avenge her father’s murder and that her husband, as a result, introduced her to Minott, who was to facilitate the purchase.

At the same time, Minott testified that McDonald had told him to use Tonia’s interest in buying the gun to get closer to her so that he could kill her.

McDonald was then heard further in the recording saying, “So me gi har the green light. She a say to me and me say to har ‘no bada buy one’.”

Asked by the prosecutor to explain what the businessman meant, Minott said he was saying that he gave his wife permission to buy the gun and told her to buy two.

Further in the conversation, McDonald told Minott that he would give his wife $500,000 to buy the weapons.

Minott previously testified that he had lured Tonia - under the guise that she was going there to collect the guns - to a deserted area in Sherwood Forest, Portland, where she was killed

However, he told the court that before that, she, Barnes, and he had travelled to Portland to collect the guns and that she had shown up with $500,000 during that trip.

But according to Minott, Barnes was the one who had directed them to the location but was unable to retrieve the weapon that day.

PLAN TO BURN PRINTS

Turning back to the conversation between Minott and McDonald, the businessman was heard saying “You just affi go do wey you affi do.”

“‘Member prints and ting wi left inna de vehicle. You affi bun it up,” McDonald continued in the recording.

Minott was then heard assuring him that there would be no prints.

“No print nah left, man. Me nuh tell you how me deal wid my ting dem, Brenda,” Minott declared.

Further in the said recorded conversations, McDonald was heard committing to give his wife the money to purchase the guns and describing how the murder plot was to unfold.

“The arrangement is when unu go weh unuh go and unu get the stuff dem, you drive back alone because you safe cau a you alone a drive.”

“You know wha you affi do. It nuh fi come back,” McDonald was heard telling Minott.

Asked again to explain what the businessman meant, Minott said, “When Ms Tonia leave fi go buy di gun, mi nuh fi mek she come back.”

During Minott’s evidence, one of McDonald’s lawyers, Christopher Townsend, objected to the prosecutor’s line of questioning, sayingthat Minott was being asked to give his opinion and that it was highly prejudicial and of no probative value.

However, it was overruled by Justice Chester Stamp, who noted that the evidence was already before the court and that Minott could speak to the conversation as he was part of it.

In the meantime, Minott during cross-examination from Townsend, insisted that he had used four “banger” phones given to him by McDonald to do the recordings and that the phones had memory card capability. Minott maintained that he stored the recordings on a memory slot, which he would put in each phone when they were replaced.

Minott also denied that he had lied in his conversation about his son being involved in the murder plot and going with him to Tonia’s home. He claimed that he had lied to protect Barnes as he did not want McDonald to know about his involvement.

He also insisted that he was certain that the voice in the recordings was that of McDonald and that he was not telling a lie on him.

The trial will continue today.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com