By Latrishka Thomas
The murder case against Shawn ‘Soca Slide’ Mussington – who is accused of killing hairdresser Simone Whyte – could be thrown out if the police fail to complete the file by the next court hearing.
Mussington appeared before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh in the St John’s Magistrate’s Court last week but the case was adjourned.
That was because the prosecution indicated that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had requested sight of a forensic evidence report which relates to exhibits that the police had sent to Jamaica for forensic analysis, before proceeding.
However, the Chief Magistrate recalled the matter yesterday and stated that, based on the DPP’s instructions to the police, if the file isn’t presented on June 24 for the committal hearing, the case will be dismissed.
It is believed that on November 14 2020, the soca artiste killed his reported ex-partner, 45-year-old Whyte, in the heart of St John’s.
The incident reportedly occurred at around 8.30pm at a store located at the junction of Market and Tanner streets.
Whyte, who worked at a nearby hair salon, was apparently socialising in the area when the assailant attacked her with a sharp object. She died around two hours later.
After the incident, the accused reportedly fled the scene, and the police launched a manhunt to capture him.
Whyte moved to Antigua from Jamaica in 2015 to make a better life for her children. Her body was repatriated last December following a fundraising effort to return her to her homeland.
The defendant made his first court appearance in November 2020, after being charged with murdering the mother-of-three a day prior.
He was subsequently remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison.