CHRISTOPHER Townsend, one of the five attorneys who represented Everton “Beachy Stout” McDonald for his murder trial, has indicated that an appeal of his conviction has been filed.

In fact, the attorney said he is “anxious” as the Crown could have a “difficulty explaining” matters related to phone recordings to the Court of Appeal.

McDonald and his then co-accused, Oscar Barnes, were convicted in March for the gruesome July 20, 2020 murder of Tonia Hamilton McDonald, Beachy Stout’s second wife.

A seven-member jury also found the two men guilty of conspiring to commit murder.

Last Thursday in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston, trial judge Justice Chester Stamp imposed a life sentence on the men, ordering that McDonald and Barnes spend 28 years and 11 months in prison for the gruesome killing of Tonia, before they become eligible for parole. McDonald also received four years and six months for conspiracy, while Barnes was given a six-year and six months sentence for conspiracy. The murder and conspiracy sentences for both men will run concurrently.

Immediately after the handing down of the sentences, Townsend highlighted a discrepancy in the trial that had to do with phone recordings which helped to convince the jury that McDonald was guilty of conspiring to murder his wife. However, throughout the case, McDonald’s attorneys challenged the authenticity of the recordings.

“We anticipate that there will be the usual holding grounds. Certainly, I anticipate that the Crown will have a difficulty explaining to the Court of Appeal how is it that recording that was made on one phone, that phone was not presented before the court. Another phone was presented, alleging that the recording was made on that phone. I am anxious to see how that will be dealt with,” Townsend said.

The other attorneys for McDonald throughout the trial, which began in September last year, were Earl Hamilton, Ryan Jon-Paul Hamilton, Courtney Rowe, and John Jacobs. Barnes’ attorneys were Ernest Davis and Vincent Wellesley.

Townsend shared that the legal team handling the appeal might be slightly different, hinting that John Clarke could form a key part of that team. Attorney Monique Scott could be part of the appeal team as well.

Throughout the trial, convict Denvalyn “Bubbla” Minott, who was the confessed contract killer in Tonia’s murder, said he was offered $3 million by her husband to do away with her. Minott, who is currently serving prison time for his involvement, said that McDonald wanted Tonia to be stabbed to death and her throat slashed.

According to Minott, who became a State witness and gave evidence during the trial, he could not carry out the murder and, therefore, subcontracted it to Barnes, who completed the job.

He said that after the job was done, Barnes began to pressure him for his piece of the pie and demanded that he pay up.

Minott said he, in turn, reached out to McDonald for the money but was snubbed each time by the popular Portland businessman. Minott said that because he had so much difficulty getting the money from McDonald, he decided to record phone conversations with him in an attempt to trap the businessman.

According to Minott, he used a Samsung cellular phone that was fitted with a memory card to record the conversations after the murder. He claimed that he saved the recordings of him beseeching McDonald to pay up, among other things related to the murder, under the file name Vybz Kartel. Minott said he did this because if anyone found the phone and accessed it, they would believe that it was music that was stored on it.

During the trial, a police telecommunications expert told the court that the files did not bear the name Vybz Kartel.

On the recordings, Minott, along with a man purported to be McDonald, were heard discussing a plot to kill Tonia.