A former forensic analyst has testified that murdered chartered accountant, Keith Clarke, could have been fatally shot while in an upright position.
The former forensic expert was being cross-examined at the Home Circuit Court in downtown, Kingston on Thursday, as the trial of the three Jamaican Defence Force soldiers charged with murdering Clarke continued.
Mahiri Stewart reports.
Clarke was killed at his home in Upper Kirkland Heights, St. Andrew, On trial for Keith Clarke’s murder are Lance Corporal Greg Tinglin, Corporal Odel Buckley, and Private Arnold Henry.
On Thursday, the crown called its fourth witness, a former forensic analyst. The witness testified that, at the time of Clarke’s murder, she worked in the biology department of the forensic science lab.
The former analyst told the court that she visited the crime scene on October 10, 2010, five months after Clarke’s demise.
This, she said, was at the request of the JCF’s Bureau of Special Investigations and then Commissioner of the Independent Commission of Investigations, INDECOM, Terrence Williams.
She stated that during her visit to Clarke’s Upper Kirkland Heights, St. Andrew, home, she focused mainly on the master bedroom, where his body was found.
Clarke was shot more than 20 times in that area of the house during a military operation in May 2010. The operation was in search of then-fugitive Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.
The witness testified that she observed several brown spots that appeared to be blood stains in the bedroom’s closet. She said the closet spanned the entire length of the eastern wall of the master bedroom.
The former forensic analyst was asked by the prosecution if any conclusion was made on the position of Clarke’s body, based on the blood spatter seen in the room.
To this end, the witness said the bloodstains suggested that Clarke could have been shot while in an upright position. She added that the blood spatter on the northern wall of the closet was at a lower level.
According to the witness, this suggested that Clarke could have also been shot while lying on the floor or injured in the lower region of his body while in an upright position.
The witness said she came to those conclusions based on the height of the bloodstains on the lower section of Clarke’s clothing and the position of the blood spatter on the wall.
The witness added that further examination of the house showed numerous bullet holes in several rooms, doors, and walls, along with damaged furniture and broken glass.
The prosecution is expected to continue its cross-examination of the witness on Monday.
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