The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Claudette Thompson, informed the jury within the homicide trial of former police constable Noel Maitland that the proof offered by the Crown kinds a whole and constant image implicating him within the disappearance and alleged killing of social media character Donna-Lee Donaldson.
Maitland, who can be charged with the illegal burial of Donaldson’s physique, has maintained that the physique has by no means been recovered. In her closing tackle within the Supreme Courtroom on Monday, Thompson urged jurors to think about Maitland’s actions as a part of a deliberate effort to mislead investigators.
Thompson drew on scripture from Proverbs 6:16-19, highlighting traits the Bible describes as detestable, together with mendacity, violence, and deceit. She urged jurors to judge Maitland’s conduct via this lens, asserting that his behaviour after Donaldson went lacking confirmed a sample of denial and diversion.
The DPP stated Maitland tried to shift suspicion by directing consideration to others, together with the neighbour he claimed he didn’t like. She additionally referenced his repeated point out of his youngster’s mom, Kathy-Anna Smith, in his police assertion—an assertion she stated was launched by the defence and used to deflect accountability.
Thompson informed the jury that investigators discovered no proof linking Smith to the disappearance, noting she was not seen at Donaldson’s dwelling, the automobile wash, or concerned in any associated exercise. She added that Smith was not charged as a result of police discovered no foundation to take action.
The DPP additionally pointed to Maitland’s personal assertion, which she stated launched a potential motive tied to his relationship with Smith. She highlighted proof that Smith referred to as Maitland repeatedly on the morning of July 12, suggesting the decision sample indicated a private battle.
Addressing the defence’s problem that no blood was discovered on the automobile wash the place the Crown alleges Maitland washed a sofa, Thompson argued that the scene had been cleaned and that the police solely visited the situation on July 20—seven days after the incident. She stated the world had been closely washed with water, vinegar, and degreaser, and famous that nobody disputed this cleansing course of.
Thompson additionally questioned why Maitland didn’t speak in confidence to police that he had taken the sofa for laundry, saying that this omission was in keeping with the Crown’s case that blood was current on the scene however eliminated earlier than investigators arrived.
In her closing remarks, Thompson urged jurors to think about unresolved questions, together with the whereabouts of the lengthy sofa and Maitland’s lacking iPhone. She highlighted that the cellphone handed over to police was a special system, a “BLU” cellphone, elevating questions on why the unique system was not produced.
The DPP additional challenged the credibility of character proof offered by the defence, saying even Maitland’s supervisor appeared unaware of key points of his private life, together with his relationship with Donaldson and his standing as a father.
Thompson informed jurors that Maitland did not act within the method anticipated of a police officer when his girlfriend disappeared and insisted that the Crown’s proof shaped a whole image, with no lacking items.
She concluded by asking the jury to ship a verdict that displays the proof they heard and the displays they reviewed.
The defence is scheduled to ship its closing arguments on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.
