Lawyers representing one of the five men on trial for kidnapping and murdering businessman Dr Edward Koury have sought to discredit the State’s main crime scene investigator, who allegedly found Koury’s blood on his clothing and his fingerprints on a getaway car.
Presenting her closing address to the 12-member jury before Justice Malcolm Holdip at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Senior Counsel Pamela Elder, who is leading Caleb Donaldson’s legal team, spent several hours raising issues with retired police inspector Judy Badall.
Elder repeatedly used the biblical parable of the wise and foolish builders as she suggested that the State’s case against Donaldson was built on “sinking sand” because it relied mainly on Badall’s evidence.
“If you have reasonable doubt in Badall’s evidence, it is going to cause the foundation to drop. Once that happens, everything goes,” Elder said.
Elder reminded the jury to consider her objections to Badall being deemed an expert witness by Holdip as she pointed out that her (Badall) qualifications came from two-week courses.
“Imagine 12 laypersons sat here and snickered at a police expert. That means the witness is either a fool or a liar,” Elder said.
Referring to the Badall’s evidence over matching Donaldson to fingerprints found on a stolen taxi, allegedly used to abduct Koury, Elder noted that she (Badall) failed to bring photographic evidence of the surface, on which the fingerprints were allegedly found.
In terms of the blood that was allegedly found on Donaldson’s boots and jeans and later linked to Koury through DNA testing, Elder sought to question whether her client claimed ownership of the footwear.
Elder noted that the shoes were found in a house in D’Abadie, where Donaldson’s co-accused Terry Moore and Jerome Murray were arrested shortly after Koury’s abduction.
She asked the jury to consider that Badall found the boots and took them to the police station where Donaldson was being housed.
Elder noted that while Badall alleged that Donaldson claimed ownership of the boots, none of the senior police officers, present during his interrogation, confirmed her claims.
Elder also questioned why two brothers, who owned the house, in which a gun linked to the crime was also found, were not prosecuted.
“If presence in a house is evidence that he is guilty of murder, then where are the Ambroses?” Elder said.
After Elder completes her closing address, defence attorneys for Moore, Murray, and Robert Franklyn will present theirs.
Lawyers representing the fifth accused man, Shawn James, have elected not to address the jury.
After they complete the process, which is likely to run into next week, State prosecutors will be given an opportunity to respond, before Holdip sums up the legal issues in the case to the jurors and allows them to deliberate on the men’s guilt or innocence.