By Latrishka Thomas
An expert witness was called to the stand yesterday in the high-profile murder trial surrounding the death of Bruce Greenaway.
Greenaway was strangled three years ago and his body was found at Indian Creek on April 13 2020 days after he was reported missing.
It is believed that he was killed by four law enforcement officials – police officer Jason Modeste and Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force soldiers Shakiel Thomas, Armal Warner and Aliyah Martin.
Doctor Rasheeda Gilbert-Charles was the first witness in the trial yesterday morning. She told the court that she has been a doctor for 13 years and was a District Medical Officer at the time of Greenaway’s demise.
After disclosing her qualifications, she was deemed an expert general medical practitioner.
Charles told the court that on April 13 2020 she was called by Dockyard police to Indian Creek and when she got there, she “observed what appeared to be a middle-aged male lying on the beach”.
She said that he was lying on his stomach with his face in the sand.
“An odour of decomposition was emanating from the body and he was also noticed to have erythema bruises to the right hand and posterior trunk,” she added.
The doctor explained that erythema bruises are red bruises caused by damage to blood vessels under the skin.
The medical doctor pronounced Greenaway dead at 5.18pm.
Defence attorney Wendel Robinson who represents the lone police officer suggested to the witness that erythema is related to the environment and therefore the bruises were caused by such.
“Erythema can be caused by a number of things but an erythema’s bruise is usually related to trauma,” Charles responded, however agreeing to Robinson’s suggestion that the bruises could have been caused by exposure to the sun.
Warner’s lawyer Sherfield Bowen clarified whether or not the doctor is trained in pathology and then sought to evoke evidence that the discoloration could have been due to natural causes.
“Is it not a medical fact that if a person is dead the blood will flow to the lowest point and cause discoloration,” he asked. “Yes,” the expert answered.
Martin’s lawyer Lawrence Daniels asked the witness if the bruises could have been as a result of the rocks in the area and she assented.
Daniels also probed for more information about the witness’s examination of the body and the witness said she did not move the body or touch it and therefore did not know if there were bruises on any other part of it.
The next witness to take the stand was Olston Lawrence who was a licence technician with the Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board at the time Greenaway was found dead.
His brief evidence simply revealed that on June 5 2020, an officer from the ONDCP wanted to find out if the deceased was the owner of a driver’s licence.
The trial will continue on Monday.