Omar Anderson, Gleaner Writer
AFTER TWO months of trial, the 12-member jury in the Kraal murder case is expected to deliver its verdict today in the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe completed most of his summary of evidence yesterday evening, indicating he would continue for an hour this morning before discharging the jury to deliberate.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Reneto Adams and two other policemen, corporals Patrick Coke and Shane Lyons, are on trial for the May 7, 2003 murder of four persons, including two women, in Kraal, Clarendon.
They were Angella Richards, 47; Lowena Thompson, 39; Kirk Gordon and Matthew James, both 29.
The policemen are claiming they were fired upon on the day in question, after a police party visited Kraal in search of wanted man, Bashington 'Chen Chen' Douglas.
NO-CASE SUBMISSIONS
Last week, the Chief Justice upheld no-case submissions freeing constables Devon Bernard, Roderick Collier and Leford Gordon, who were initially charged with murder.
Chief Justice Wolfe continued his review of evidence yesterday, with the testimonies of forensic scientists Jeffrey Rowe and Robin Keely, among other pieces of evidence, sharing the spotlight.
Both had stated that based on their examination of forensic material, gunshot injuries inflicted to the four deceased were not consistent with a shoot-out. They further agreed the four were killed in controlled circumstances.
For his part, Mr. Keely said the victims were killed two to three metres away from the barrel of a gun.
But ballistics expert, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Daniel Wray, in his evidence had stated that holes inside the house indicated that shots were fired from in and outside the house.
CHARACTER EVIDENCE
He also also said that gunshots were fired from inside the house on to a breadfruit tree in the yard at Kraal.
In reviewing the character evidence of SSP Adams and corporals Coke and Lyons, the Chief Justice told the jury that evidence must be taken as serious as other pieces of evidence the prosecution has led.
Chief Justice Wolfe instructed the jury to free the men if they believed their character evidence, or conversely, rule in favour of the accused policemen if they (the jury) had any doubt of the character evidence.
He, however, reminded the jury they could disregard the character evidence if they didn't believe it, but that they could not convict the men based only on their disbelief of the character evidence.
