Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
GEORGE PROCTOR, the 86-year-old University of the West Indies consultant charged with conspiring to murder his wife, was denied bail for a second time when he appeared in the Half-Way Tree Resident Magistrate's court yesterday.
The frail, bespectacled American, dressed in a light brown suit, sat quietly as Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey said he and his driver, Glenford Fellington, should remain in police custody for another week.
Clerk of the Court, Hansurd Lawson, said the extension would give the police sufficient time to conclude their investigations.
Mr. Proctor allegedly paid Mr. Fellington $90,000 to murder his 66-year-old wife. They are scheduled to appear in court again on May 10.
ADVANCED AGE
Attorney Thomas Tavares-Finson, who represented Mr. Proctor, pointed to his client's advanced age as grounds for bail. Mr. Proctor and Mr. Fellington are currently in custody at the Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston.
Hugh Faukner, who represented Mr. Fellington yesterday, told RM Pusey that he had "impeccable antecedents" and because he had no criminal record, the father of five children should be given bail.
But Mr. Lawson countered. He said the main witness in the case had reported receiving death threats from Mr. Fellington, who hails from Manchester.
Taking the alleged death threats into consideration, Ms. Pusey said it would be ill-advised to grant Mr. Fellington bail.
"Witnesses are an endangered species and this is a serious offence," Ms. Pusey said.
Mr. Proctor is a respected botanist who has lived in Jamaica for more than 50 years. Considered an authority on this country's flora, he was also a consultant in the Science Department at the Institute of Jamaica.
