THE trial of renowned botanist Dr George Proctor, 86, and a former employee he allegedly paid to kill his wife of over 30 years, was on Monday postponed in the Home Circuit Court until September.

It was postponed because of the ongoing trial of the three people charged with the murder of businessman LG Brown in the number one courtroom. That trial began last week.

Proctor and co-accused Glenmore Fellington are charged with conspiracy to murder, stemming from allegations that Proctor, a senior botanist at the University of the West Indies (UWI), offered to pay Fellington $80,000 to murder his wife.

According to court documents, Fellington allegedly approached a man referred to as “Simpson” on February 6 last year while in Mandeville saying that the latter was the best man to do the job.

The hit was allegedly planned to take place between April 20 and 27 when Proctor, an American citizen, would have been off the island.

The court documents stated that some time after that, Proctor, Fellington and Simpson met at the UWI campus and agreed on a price of $80,000 for the job. But only days later, Simpson gave a statement to the police outlining the plot.

It is also alleged that on April 19, during another visit to Kingston to further discuss the plot with the two accused, Simpson taped a conversation in which Proctor stated that he wanted four other persons killed as well.

Fellington was arrested the following day along Washington Boulevard in Kingston, while Proctor was held at the Norman Manley International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to the United States later that day. The tape was handed over to the police.

Proctor is currently on $1.5 -million bail, while Fellington is still behind bars although he was offered $500,000 bail with two or three sureties.