Knife Found

Crime scene manager Inspector Wayne Griffith testified in the murder trial of a mother and son, that when he saw the dead body of the accused woman’s common-law husband there was a knife in his hand.

The policeman said 44-year-old Gregory Adams was lying on his back in the yard of the woman’s home.

Shonette Vanessa Williams and Calvin Osbort Osbourne, both of Lower Bridge Gap, Cave Hill, St Michael are accused of killing Adams on October 18, 2020.

As the trial continued in the No. 4 Supreme Court, the police witness gave his findings of the crime scene, indicating that the incident began in the front bedroom of Williams’ residence and extended into the backyard.

He said there were blood stains on the bed, on the bedroom floor and mats, and on the washing machine in the yard. Blood droplets were seen along the floor of the home, along with pieces of a broken bottle. Griffith said there was also a cutlass on the ground near Adams’ body.

He said a wooden knife handle, a stainless steel knife blade and a white-handled knife in Adams’ hand were also taken from the scene.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC asked Griffith whether he observed any blood on the white-handled knife and he replied, “No”.

Referring to the picture taken of the knife in Adams’ hand, Seale asked, “Is it not a reasonable conclusion that a man with blood on his hand holding a white-handled knife, that that blood would be transferred?”

The police inspector replied in the affirmative.

During her cross-examination, defence attorney Sian Lange, who is representing Williams, asked Griffith whether he instructed anyone to carry out fingerprint analysis on the items recovered from the scene. He said he did not.

The officer admitted that while several swabs had been taken from the weapons, none had been analysed as the Forensics Lab was – and still is – closed.

“Would it not have been helpful for an analysis to be done on the white-handled knife to prove whether it had on blood or not?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am,” Inspector Griffith replied.