KINGSTON, Jamaica — Police constable Noel Maitland on Tuesday instructed a seven-member jury that he would by no means have harmed or killed his former girlfriend, social media influencer Donna-Lee Donaldson, who disappeared in July 2022.
Addressing the Residence Circuit Court docket in Kingston by means of an unsworn assertion, Maitland firmly rejected the allegations in opposition to him, saying he by no means harboured violent intentions towards Donaldson. He’s at the moment going through costs of homicide and stopping the lawful burial of a corpse.
The defendant described his three-year relationship with Donaldson as one marked by frequent verbal disagreements, primarily surrounding points involving the mom of his baby. In response to Maitland, these disputes by no means escalated past arguments, and there was no bodily violence at any time.
He instructed the courtroom that their remaining disagreement occurred on July 12, 2022, after repeated phone calls from the mom of his baby and considerations raised by Donaldson a couple of {photograph} of one other girl displayed in his residence. Maitland mentioned he selected to not interact throughout the argument and later went to sleep.
Maitland recounted that he was later woke up by Donaldson, who knowledgeable him she was leaving. He mentioned that was the final time he noticed her and that she departed the residence that very same day.
Throughout his assertion, Maitland additionally maintained that he absolutely cooperated with investigators all through the police probe. An unsworn assertion permits an accused individual to present their account with out being positioned below oath and can’t be challenged by means of cross-examination.
Donaldson, who was 24 years previous and operated her personal enterprise, was formally reported lacking on July 13, 2022. Her mom beforehand testified that she final noticed her daughter on July 11, when Maitland collected her from their St Andrew residence. She additional acknowledged that she spoke with Donaldson on the morning of July 12.
The trial, which started in Could 2025, continues earlier than the Residence Circuit Court docket.
