The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE lawyer representing North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish called the evidence against her client inadequate, as the prosecution closed its case in his rape trial on Friday after only four witnesses took the stand.

This comes as one officer testified there were conflicting details between the complainant and her mother’s retelling of an alleged assault by the defendant.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Raymondo Russell said that he was instructed to speak with family members of the complainant in Abaco in  April of 2023.

While under questioning from Tai Pinder-Mackey,  Cornish’s attorney, ASP Russell said that he received conflicting information regarding an alleged assault Cornish made against the complainant.

He claimed that the complainant’s mother told him that Cornish accidentally poked her daughter in the eye while the complainant claimed it was intentional.

In prior testimony the complainant said that Cornish willfully poked her in the eye three to four times causing it to be bruised.

ASP Russell further confirmed to Mrs Pinder-Mackey that he never interviewed the complainant nor went inside her house. He also said that he never received any ripped clothing in relation to this matter.

The officer could not respond to the attorney’s question whether there was a police station across the street from the complainant’s home.

Previously the complainant testified that Cornish allegedly ripped off her clothes during a sexual assault in her home in Abaco last year.

When Mrs Pinder-Mackey asked if the case against her client was weak, ASP Russell responded that he did not think it was enough evidence.

He then said that all the evidence he collected was hearsay with no physical evidence. 

In reference to a threats of death charge made against Cornish, ASP Russell said that no firearm was collected in connection with it.

However, when asked by prosecutor Timothy Bailey, ASP Russell agreed that you don’t always find a firearm in relation to a threats of death inquiry.

Responding to a question from the jury asking why he didn’t interview the complainant and defendant at the same time , ASP Russell said that he was not the investigating officer. 

He further explained that he only made inquiries with the complainant’s mother and aunt into matter as he was instructed to. He also said that the reason he did not go to the complainants house is that her family members felt uncomfortable and wanted to met in a more neutral setting.

Detective Chief Superintendent Daryl Weir, the officer in charge of CID Grand Bahama, said that on April 27 2023 he sat in on interview between Superintendent Nicholas Johnson, the investigator in matter, and Kirk Cornish.

SPT Weir said that Cornish’s attorney Owen Wells was also present at time.

The officer told the court that the defendant was not coerced or pressured to give answers in that interview.

Answering a question from Mrs Pinder-Mackey, SPT Weir said that Cornish was cooperative and non-evasive during the interview.

The officer said that he believed that Cornish was cautioned on assault during this interview; however, while being questioned by Mrs Pinder-Mackey after reading his report, he accepted that there was no mention of assault in the caution given to Cornish.

The officer also accepted that Cornish strongly denied the alleged sex assaults.

He further agreed with the attorney’s point that Cornish said that he accidentally poked the complainant in the eye when he reached for her phone as she was on a call.

Clerk Elizabeth Johnson read the statement of Garnet Edgecombe, the complaint’s neighbor, into evidence.

Mr Edgecombe’s statement read that on April 4, 2023 at around 3pm he observed the defendant park his car at the complainant’s residence and saw him enter the premises.

During the first week of testimony, the complainant described two alleged assaults by Cornish in 2022 and 2023. She claimed that he pinned her down, raped her, spat in her face, and threatened to “put a bullet” in her head during a separate violent altercation months earlier. 

The complainant also alleged that Cornish poked her in the eye and choked her during a dispute over a phone call. Photos presented in court, reportedly taken from her phone, showed bruises around her right eye and neck, where she claimed his nails had left marks.

With the close of the prosecution’s case, the defense’s first witness will take the stand when the matter continues on Monday.

Justice Renae McKay is presiding over the case. Pinder-Mackey and Linique Murphy-Grant represent Cornish.