McMillen Murder Trial Adjourned Again
The four men in jail here for the murder of American Lois Livingstone McMillen almost a year ago, will have to wait another few months before their fate is decided. They were again remanded in custody when their case came up for hearing in the October assizes of the High Court last week.
The Americans, William Labrador, Alexander Benedetto, Michael Spicer and Evan George, were committed to stand trial for the murder, which occurred January 14th this year. The body of Ms. McMillen was found on the shores of Drakes Highway in West End. The accused were arrested January 15th and have been in custody, without bail, ever since.
Labrador is facing a charge of murder, while Benedetto, Spicer and George are facing indictments for the murder, as well as for perverting the course of justice and for being accessories after the fact. Mr. J.S. Archibald Q.C, along with Messieurs Oscar Ramjeet and Ian Sandy are representing Spicer and George, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Mr. St. Clair Douglas are the Attorneys for Labrador and Mr Paul Dennis for Benedetto. A preliminary inquiry, which lasted from 5th June to August 11th, was characterized by delays. The prosecution was in each instance awaiting forensic evidence from labs firstly in Barbados and then in Jamaica. These tests have proved inconclusive and are now with a new lab in the United Kingdom.
The evidence is now undergoing a Low Copy Number analysis, a type of DNA testing which became available only in January of this year that can detect DNA markers from samples smaller than a pin prick. The trial was scheduled to begin November 1st, but Senior Crown Counsel Terrence Williams requested an adjournment to await this forensic evidence, which is not expected to be available for the next four to eight weeks. He said the adjournment was in the interest of justice, as these results could be advantageous to either side ö the defence or the prosecution. The three Defense Attorneys objected to the application for adjournment before Justice Neville Smith, arguing gross unfairness to the accused. They said by next March, their clients would be in custody for over a year. "This application makes a farce of justice (and) will prejudice the high quality of the justice system in this jurisdiction" said Mr. Archibald Q.C. He said there was not "a jot, tittle or iota of evidence" to support the indictment of his clients for murder. Mr. Dennis referred to "the history of malaise" which characterized the proceedings and said he has no confidence that an adjournment would put them in a better position. He argued that there was no evidence in the depositions against his client. "In these circumstances, it is made elusively clear by the authorities that such an indictment is bad, not just patently, but latently, and should be quashed."
Mr. Douglas was concerned that the new evidence would become available at "the 11th hour" and he would not have sufficient time to prepare to properly represent his client. He said his team was prepared for the November 1st trial and it would be "manifestly unfair to the accused person" to adjourn this matter. "We are fully aware of our duties regarding the furtherance of justice" Mr. Williams stated, responding to charges that the Crown was going on a "fishing expedition" for evidence. He said the Crown had gone to great lengths and paid "premium prices" to secure the latest form of DNA evidence. In the context of the BVI, the Senior Crown Counsel argued that it was not unprecedented for a murder trial to take over a year to be completed. He referred to three cases in the last year ö the Sherwin Fahie case took 1 year and 7 months, Lyn Weekesâ ö 1 year and 2 months and Francisco Sarante's ö 1 year and 4 months. The jury was discharged Wednesday morning before Justice Smith, who pointed out that he would ordinarily not have heard this line of questioning, allowed the arguments. By around 1pm, he had heard all the submissions and he then adjourned the sitting for the day. In making his ruling Thursday morning, Justice Smith said the Court was not aware that an adjournment of such a length would be requested. However, he said the defence did not show him where the delay would adversely affect their ability to defend their clients. He told the defendants that incarceration is a usual misfortune for persons charged with the offence of murder. He said they must be aware that justice may take longer in this instance, but assured them that justice will eventually be dispensed.
"I am satisfied, on representation of Counsel for the Crown, that there will be forensic evidence relevant to the trial of this case" Justice Smith ruled. He therefore adjourned the matter to the next criminal assizes, scheduled for March 2001, or such an earlier sitting as may be arranged.
On the issue of quashing the murder charges against Spicer, Benedetto and George, the judge, who was presiding over his last assizes before retirement, said he found no good grounds to find the present indictment patently or latently defective. He refused the motions to amend and said the accused would still face charges of murder. Justice Smith, who just about three months ago joined Justice Kenneth Benjamin as Resident Judge in the BVI, said he was disappointed at the outcome of this trial. "I would have liked to have gone out having tried a celebrated murder trial, having started my judicial career with a murder case." He told the Court he began his judicial career in 1962 when he sat in a Magistrate's Court in Barbados and finally as a judge, where the first jury he sat with dealt with a murder trial of three men who killed a man who had just filled out a prescription for him. In April 2001, Justice Smith would have reached the oldest age that a judge is allowed to preside (62, with latitude for a further three years) and "I shall be put out to pasture", he declared. He told the jury that he would remember them for being the last jury he sat with and also for the seriousness with which they carried out their duties.