The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A FLOOD destroyed photos taken of a murder victim at a morgue, a jury was told yesterday.

Detective Corporal Trayvon McQuay was giving evidence of his involvement in the investigation into the fatal shooting of Marco Smith on September 26, 2010. Smith had got into an argument with a man when he was shot.

Lathario Miller, 29, is accused of the shooting, but denies the murder charge he faces and has retained lawyer Raymond Rolle to defend him.

Roger Thompson is prosecuting the case while Justice Ian Winder is presiding over the trial.

Cpl McQuay, in yesterday’s proceedings, testified that he received instructions from a superior officer, which led him to the morgue at the Princess Margaret Hospital on September 27, 2010.

It was at the morgue that he photographed a dark skinned male with his hair braided in cornrows. The officer said he collected three fired bullets taken from the deceased male during the autopsy that he observed.

When asked by prosecutor Roger Thompson about the photos he took of the deceased, Cpl McQuay said the photos albums and compact disc he had produced were destroyed by flooding of the Criminal Records Office at the Central Detective Unit (CDU).

In cross-examination, Mr Rolle asked the officer on which date did he go to recover the photos that he said were destroyed.

The witness said he could not immediately recall which day it was. The defence lawyer suggested this was because he had never checked.

The detective said he did check, but could not recall the exact date.

In re-examination, Mr Thompson asked the officer if he had produced a report as a result of the damaged evidence.

Cpl McQuay said he did and would recognise the report, as his signature was fixed at the bottom of the document. When allowed to refresh his memory from the report, the detective confirmed that he went to the Criminal Records Office on August 25, 2012.

Tropical storm warnings were issued a day before for south and central islands of the Bahamas until August 26 as Tropical Storm Isaacs made its way past Hispaniola and then northwest through the Straits of Florida.