Police constable accused of murdering girlfriend freed

Police Constable Linval Aird who was convicted in July 2017 of the murder of his 17-year-old girlfriend Shauna-Kay Clarke was today freed by the Court of Appeal.

The Crown had alleged at the trial that Clarke was shot in the chest and abdomen from point blank range after she and Aird were seen sitting in Aird's car.

The incident took place in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on the night of April 11, 2010.

Aird had denied killing Clarke and reported that someone else had done the shooting but he was convicted by a jury in the Westmoreland Curcuit Court.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve 20 years' imprisonment before he could be eligible for parole.

A man was arrested and charged with Clarke's murder but the case against him was discontinued after  the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled that Aird should be charged.

Aird, who was formerly attached to the Westmoreland Criminal Investigations Branch, filed several grounds of appeal challenging his conviction.

Attorney-at-law Melrose Reid argued today that the conviction was unreasonable based on the evidence.

The court upheld Reid's legal arguments and freed Aird.

-Barbara Gayle

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.