By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A JURY was told yesterday that a mistrial had been ordered in the case of a man who claimed he had been tortured into confessing to the murders of two teenage boys who were shot and killed in Yellow Elder Gardens in 2017.
Deon Scavella, 30, was present as the jury was dismissed by Justice Jeannine Weech-Gomez in the Supreme Court.
Prosecutors allege that Scavella shot and killed Devonte Lindsey, 15, and Keishon Williams, 13, on March 19 2017. Their bodies were later found on a dirt road off Graham Drive in Yellow Elder.
Earlier this week, the prosecution closed its case against the accused. Scavella had taken the stand in his defence and was set to continue cross-examination when the mistrial was ordered.
The jury was not told the reason for the court’s decision. Scavella will remain in custody until the court decides how to proceed.
He has the right to apply for bail during that time.
Scavella claimed on Tuesday that he was forced to confess to the murders after police tortured him at CDU.
Scavella’s trial was previously discontinued before Justice Neil Braithwaite in 2024, when the jury was discharged after he was hospitalised following a serious traffic accident.
Marianne Cadet represented the accused.
Shaneka Carey and Davina Pinder were the prosecutors.
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