Almost a dozen of the much-anticipated phone recordings in the Everton “Beachy Stout” McDonald and Oscar Barnes murder trial were played in open court on Wednesday. The audio had the full attention of the seven-member jury as they listened to Denvalyn Minott conspire with a man purported to be McDonald to have a crime committed.

Based on the recordings, the crime was to take place at McDonald’s home in Portland.

McDonald and Oscar Barnes are on trial in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston for the July 20, 2020 murder of Tonia McDonald. The deceased was the second wife of McDonald, a successful businessman who operates in Portland.

Minott was also charged in connection with the murder and pleaded guilty for his involvement. He said he was the contractor in the killing and that he subcontracted the hit to Barnes, whom he said completed the job by himself.

On the recordings, Minott could be heard talking to another man believed to be McDonald and the two at times had lengthy discussions about him going to the businessman’s home with the intent of committing the crime.

The voice being attributed to the businessman could be heard coaching Minott and giving him specific instructions about how certain events were to unfold.

The voice was heard at one point encouraging Minott that he could get the job done because he was a professional.

On one of the recordings, both men were heard discussing how a child had prevented an attack by Minott at the house.

“Yow, is a little boy sit down outside on the verandah enuh,” the man said to Minott on the recording.

Minott replied: “Him deh inna de house. Me deh watch him through the winda from mi go in deh, enuh”.

The man then said: “Mi never did get fi tell you say, a find mi find out because mi never know say him deh-deh.”

At one point, the man on the other end of the phone told Minott that he could no longer carry out the act at the house.

Minott was heard on numerous occasions asking the other man for various sums of money to buy gas and other things.

The charred body of McDonald’s wife was found with multiple stab wounds and her throat slashed on the main road in Sherwood Forest in Portland. The Toyota Axio motor car she was driving was set ablaze and eventually burned to a shell.

Minott was subsequently arrested at his home in Portland.

He subsequently implicated McDonald and Barnes and allegedly gave police a Samsung cellphone with an SD card, which was said to contain photographs and call recordings.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Courtney Rowe, one of five attorneys-at-law representing McDonald, during cross-examination of a detective constable, suggested to the witness that the phone they had taken from Minott had been tampered with.

The trial continues today.