By Latrishka Thomas
The prosecution called its final witness yesterday in the trial against four law enforcement officials charged with murdering Bruce Greenaway.
And upon closing their case, the four defence attorneys in the matter made ‘no case’ submissions on behalf of their clients, criticising what they believe to be a lack of evidence.
The Crown believes that police officer Jason Modeste and Defence Force soldiers Shakiel Thomas, Armal Warner and Aliyah Martin acted jointly in strangling the Falmouth father-of-two.
Greenaway’s body was found at Indian Creek on April 13 2020 – days after his family had reported him missing.
He was last seen alive on April 9 2020 reportedly by those accused.
In the trial which began in March, Warner is represented by attorney Sherfield Bowen, while Andrew O’Kola represents Thomas.
Wendel Robinson represents Modeste, and Lawrence Daniels is Martin’s lawyer.
Daniels was the first to bat in the presentation of submissions yesterday.
He argued that the Crown had failed to produce a “scintilla” of evidence in respect of his client, in particular with two key police witnesses admitting to finding no evidence pointing to her.
“There is nothing that puts her at Indian Creek. She was not seen a single time on any footage. There is no forensic evidence or direct evidence against her. There is no evidence that Martin was in the vehicle,” he told the court.
“Thirty-one witnesses and not a single witness has been able to indicate that Martin played a role or part in the killing of Greenaway,” he added.
Next, Bowen continued to emphasise his belief that the evidence against Warner is weak, referring to the case as a “travesty of justice”.
He said, based on the evidence put forward, only inferences can be drawn and “those inferences are not enough to prove murder”.
“That is a deficiency that they cannot cure,” added.
Robinson then posited that the two essential elements of murder have not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
He said there was no proof of actus reus or mens rea in relation to his client.
“If that is the best the Crown can do then I must ask the court to uphold the submission of no case to answer,” he submitted.
Lastly, O’Kola emphasised the idea that the surmise of the prosecution is contentious and “won’t get you to where you need to go”.
He also suggested that the prosecution has failed to prove his client’s guilt to the point where a jury can convict him.
Today, the prosecution will respond to the submissions and then the judge will rule on the application, either dismissing the case or continuing on.
The presiding judge is Colin Williams and the prosecutors are Valston Graham and Sean Nelson.
