Omar Anderson, Gleaner WriterCHIEF JUSTICE Lensley Wolfe on Friday pointed to gaps in the prosecution's case, as he continued his summary of evidence in the Kraal murder case in the Supreme Court.
Senior Superintendent (SSP) Reneto Adams, former head of the disbanded Crime Management Unit (CMU), and two other policemen, are on trial for the murder of two women and two men in Kraal, Clarendon on May 7, 2003.
Chief Justice Wolfe told the 12-member jury, comprising seven women and five men, that the evidence of 11-year-old Shanice Stoddart, daughter of Lowena Thompson, one of the deceased women, must be viewed carefully.
According to him, the law notes that children were "susceptible to flights of fantasy".
"They dream up a lot of things and are susceptible to being coached by other persons who are not witnesses to the incident," the Chief Justice said.
He, however, cautioned the jury that they had a right to believe Shanice's testimony if it was corroborated and if they found her to be truthful. He also told them they were not bound to follow his directions.
The Chief Justice, however, pointed to the evidence of prosecution witnesses Randy Risden, Kemar Miller and Adrian Fearon, which he said, did not, in several instances, corroborate Shanice's testimony.
In directing the jury to review whether she had given an accurate account of what happened, the Chief Justice recounted that Shanice had appeared traumatised in court and that she admitted she was confused about the May 7, 2003, incident.
The evidence of constable Tyrone Brown was then examined. He had testified that a gun was taken from east Kingston and that SSP Adams had planted it inside the house. Chief Justice Wolfe told the jury that based on the prosecution's case, this was the only thread connecting SSP Adams to the Kraal killing.
He, however, stated that constable Brown had given three statements, the first of which never mentioned anything about SSP Adams planting a gun.
In another of his statements, Brown said he saw SSP Adams collect a yellow bag, out of which he took a 9mm Taurus pistol and placed it inside the house. However, in another statement, he said he saw SSP Adams with two guns, including an M-16 rifle, which he said were the weapons fired.
"This is a very important aspect of the case," the chief justice told the jury. "You have to make up our mind if this man (Brown) is a witness of truth."
