By Orville Williams
On February 24 next year, Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel-Edwards will decide whether to accept a ‘no case’ submission that will be made by the defence team in the Bruce Greenaway murder case.
The four individuals accused of the murder, Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force officers Aliyah Martin, Armal Warner and Shakiel Thomas, along with Jason Modeste of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda – appeared in the All Saints Magistrate’s Court yesterday for a committal hearing. They were accompanied by defense attorney Andrew O’Kola, who represents two of the four accused.
O’Kola held on behalf of the other attorneys, Lawrence Daniels and Wendel Robinson, who were absent from the hearing, and also received the prosecution’s file after delays over the past several months.
The defense, who believe there is not sufficient evidence of murder against their clients, will be making a joint, written ‘no case’ submission within three weeks; Magistrate Emanuel-Edwards will then disclose whether the submission has been accepted or dismissed.
The prosecution was also allowed a similar three weeks to respond to the ‘no case’ submission.
A ‘no case’ submission is where the defence in a criminal matter seeks an acquittal without having to present a case, on the premise that the prosecution’s case does not support a finding of guilt. It then tasks the prosecution with establishing its case beyond reasonable doubt.
If the joint ‘no case’ submission is accepted by the magistrate, the accused could see the case against them dismissed, though that decision could be appealed. If the submission is not accepted, however, the case is likely to be committed to the High Court.
Forty-three-year-old Greenaway was reportedly last seen in the presence of the four accused, before his lifeless body was found in the vicinity of Indian Creek on April 13 this year – four days after he was reported missing. An autopsy subsequently concluded that his death was caused by strangulation.