Police officers Theodore Horne and Troy Willock both testified that no autopsy was ever done in relation to the death of 50-year-old Selwyn Mannix, during cross examination.
Yesterday saw four police officers testifying before the panel of jurors about their involvement in the case.
Inspector Theodore Horne and Constable Troy Willock both revealed that they were involved in the questioning of Kelly Friday when he entered the Langford Police Station to give his official statement.
During cross-examination of the two witnesses by Wayne Benjamin Marsh, both men said they were unaware that any post-mortem was done in relation to ascertaining the cause of death of Mannix.
This lack of autopsy came into particular focus of the defence attorney when Inspector Horne affirmed his suggestion that Selwyn Mannix tested positive for Covid-19 at the time of his death.
He said that, to his knowledge, only once before the pandemic was an autopsy not done on a body, although there had been multiple instances following the pandemic.
Additionally, Inspector Horne told the court, during cross examination, that they also didn’t confirm with Friday whether the stick they had found during their investigation — what was said to be a thin, four-foot-long stick—was the wattle stick Mannix used to beat him.
Meanwhile, Constable Adams from the Criminal Investigation Unit, Serious Crimes Department reported that he was on the 3 to 11 shift when a report of a stabbing incident was received.
He said that Inspector Finley, Constable Sherrisa Whyte, and him travelled to the scene in plain clothes and an unmarked vehicle.
Upon arrival, they saw the accused Kelly Friday tied up in rope and began to secure the scene.
According to Constable Adams’ testimony, he picked up the alleged knife used in the stabbing because there were “showers of rain” in the area.
He also said that he heard Friday telling him “Officer, my uncle was beating me with the stick, and I stabbed him.”
Constable Whyte testified that she spoke to Friday and saw what appeared to be scratches or injuries about his body.
Constable Adams said that he later handed over the knife to officers in the Forensic Evidence Department for processing when they later arrived on scene.
According to both officers, they were unable to see any wattle stick used by Mannix to beat Friday at the time they arrived.
Constable Whyte said that she took notes of the day’s incident, but when cross-examined by defence lawyer Wendel Alexander, she was unable to produce them and was asked to resume her testimony once she was able to locate them.
Meanwhile, Constable Adams said in his testimony that he did not take any notes on that day, due to him not having his official notebook at the time.
Officers not taking notes was said to be an unusual procedure by Inspector Horne, during his testimony, although he said that this could occur if it was raining or there were too many people to do so.
During his testimony, the courtroom was also shown the alleged knife used by Friday in the stabbing which was confirmed by Constable Adams to be the same one he picked up.
The court case continues today at 9am.