Head shot killed Miller, testifies pathologist

David Miller was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.

Consultant Pathologist Dr David Gaskin gave this evidence while testifying in Supreme Court No. 3, on Tuesday, as the murder trial of Romario O’Neil Boxill and Antonio Valentino Michael Joseph got underway before a 12-member jury.

The two have pleaded not guilty to the April 16, 2015 murder of 39-year-old Miller, formerly of Vaughn’s Road, St Joseph.

Gaskin said that there were two entry wounds found on the body of the deceased – one behind his right ear and the other on his collarbone. Lacerations were also found on his face and back.

Sergeant Carlos Lindo, who was attached to the Forensic Scenes of Crime Unit at Central Police Station at the time, testified that the deceased’s body had been found lying face down in what appeared to be a pool of blood next to a white motor vehicle in Vaughn’s Road No. 2. He was clad in green knee-length pants and bareback. The officer said that next to the parked car were two cartridges which he packaged and took into custody.

Later that same day, he went to Benny Hall, St Peter, where he was pointed to an overturned, extensively damaged silver Nissan Almera. During the search of the vehicle, Lindo discovered two firearms in the front, along with a transparent plastic bag containing money. He also observed a single round of ammunition and a cartridge case outside next to the driver’s door.

“I observed that the gun was on the right-hand side of the vehicle. Close to the steering wheel was a silver and black 40-calibre pistol, which had a single round of ammunition in the breech. It did not contain a magazine. The second gun that was located on the left side of the vehicle near the front passenger seat was a silver and black Ruger 9 mm pistol with a magazine that contained 13 rounds of ammunition, with a single round of ammunition in the breech,” he said.

The firearms, ammunition, magazine and money were all taken by police.

In his opening statement, Principal State Counsel Neville Watson outlined the state’s case, saying that Miller was at home when the two accused went to the area and had a conversation with him. During that talk, there was a dispute, during which Miller was shot. He fell to the ground and died.

“This murder was a deliberate, intentional, unprovoked killing, not done in self-defence or as an accident,” the prosecutor told the jurors as he urged them to put aside any biases or prejudices they may have for the duration of the trial.