No motive found! Defence attorney pokes holes in Crown’s case

The police have not determined a motive for the February 2018 murder of Truymayne ‘Passion’ Daway.

This was revealed last Friday as the Prosecution closed its case in the trial for the three persons accused of killing Daway — Rafael Harrigan, Vernon Bernard, and Maybelline Rodriguez who the Crown previously described as the “honeytrap” used to lure Daway to his death on the day in question.

During cross-examination of one of the Crown’s witnesses — Detective Inspector Jumo Shortte –, Bernard’s attorney Richard Rowe noted that the police tried to ascribe a motive of jealousy between Bernard and Passion.

However, Rowe highlighted that evidence from Daway’s family members in the earlier parts of the trial indicated there was no bad blood between both men.

No evidence places any defendant at the scene

While noting that the police has not come up with a motive, Detective Inspector Shortte also said there was no eyewitness, DNA or fingerprint evidence to indicate any of the defendants were present at the scene of the crime.

Rowe, who proceeded to poke holes in the Crown’s case, asked the witness if the items recovered from the crime scene — including a used condom, a condom wrapper, a piece of toilet paper, a baby wipe, and a plastic bottle — would be crucial for forensic evidence. In response, Shortte said it would be good, but he did not know if they were tested for DNA or fingerprint evidence.

Shortte also testified that although three of 10 fingerprint samples that were sent abroad were viable for comparison and verification, he was not concerned that they did not match any of the three defendants as he always sees things like that happening.