Beachy Stout trial to resume tomorrow

The murder trial of Portland businessman Everton 'Beachy Stout' McDonald failed to resume today due to the unavailability of one of the jurors, who had a medical appointment.

The trial will resume tomorrow.

McDonald and his co-accused, Oscar Barnes, are currently on trial for the alleged murder of 32-year-old businesswoman, Tonia McDonald.

Denvalyn 'Bubbla' Minott, who is currently serving 19 years in prison for his role in the murder, testified that Beachy Stout had contracted him in 2020 to kill his wife for a fee of $3 million, but that he sub-contracted the job to Barnes.

The woman's partially burnt body was found with her throat slashed in her car which had been set ablaze along a deserted road in Sherwood Forest in Portland on July 20, 2020.

On Tuesday, the matter was temporarily adjourned to today, after it was discovered that Minott had two statements that were never disclosed to the defence.

Following checks by the Crown, eight other witness statements were found not to have been disclosed to the defence.

Consequently, copies of three of the documents, including Minott's statements, were handed over to the defense on Tuesday.  An order was also made by Justice Chester Stamp for the Crown to disclose the remaining documents to the defense.

The startling development in the case with respect to the new statements was brought to light by defense attorney Christopher Townsend who revealed during his continued cross-examination of Minott that he was mistakenly presented with the statements.

The attorney, while noting that the two statements are dated June and October 2020, told the judge that the situation amounted to a serious issue with disclosure.

He further indicated that the statements are significant and could have assisted the defence in its preparation but were never disclosed.

The trial was adjourned to give the defense time to examine the recently disclosed documents.

Minott will continue to undergo cross-examination when the trial resumes tomorrow.

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