Deposition of dead witness in Mario Deane murder case read in court

The Westmoreland Circuit Court today heard evidence from the deposition statement of a now-deceased witness who had attempted to bail Mario Deane out of police custody on August 3, 2014, the day Deane was beaten at the Barnett Street Police Station in Montego Bay, St James.

The deposition was read to the jury as part of the prosecution's evidence in the ongoing trial of Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, who are charged in connection with Deane's death following the beating.

The prosecution successfully applied to the trial judge, High Court Justice Courtney Daye, for the deposition to be read to the jury, as the witness had died prior to the start of the trial, in accordance with the Evidence Act.

In the deposition, which was recorded in 2015, the witness testified that he went to bail Deane after receiving a telephone call on August 3, 2014.

He submitted a bail bond paper and a photograph to Stewart, the officer on duty at the Barnett Street lock-up at the time, to facilitate the bail process.

The witness further stated that he tried to silence Deane when the latter made a remark about the police, at which point Stewart returned the documents to him and instructed him to come back later.

According to the witness, when he returned a few hours later, he was informed that Deane had been beaten.

Meanwhile, the prosecution told the court that arrangements are being made to secure the testimony of the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem. This testimony will be presented via the Zoom platform, as the witness is overseas.

The trial was subsequently adjourned until Tuesday, March 25.

Stewart, Clevon, and Grant are charged with manslaughter, misconduct in a public office, and taking steps to pervert the course of justice, under allegations that they were on duty at the Barnett Street Police Station lock-up on August 3, 2014, when Deane was beaten while in custody. Deane died in the hospital three days later.

It is also alleged that Stewart, the senior officer on duty, ordered the cleaning of the cell where the beating took place before investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations arrived.

- Christopher Thomas

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