WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — The absence of a juror has once again stalled the long-overdue trial of three cops charged in connection with the 2014 beating death of Mario Deane as the case has been postponed until Thursday.

The case should have started at 10:00 am Tuesday but was delayed for two hours. When the matter was called up shortly after noon in the Westmoreland Circuit Court, Supreme Court Judge Justice Courtney Daye began by revealing that, “one challenge has arisen. One juror is absent.”

Daye said inquiries were made and it was revealed that the juror left home this morning but never made it to court. The investigation also revealed that the juror also left her phone at home. Daye said that further inquiries revealed that transportation from where the woman lives is a challenge at times.

The case against three cops, corporal Elaine Stewart, and constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, involves the killing of the then St James resident, Mario Deane, who was severely beaten while he was in police custody in 2014. It dragged on for years before being moved from St James to Westmoreland courts to speed up the process.

Deane’s mother had expressed hope of closure at the start of the trial on Monday.

READ: Mario Deane’s mom looking forward to closure ahead of long-awaited trial

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/03/03/mario-deanes-mom-looking-forward-closure-ahead-long-awaited-trial/

But on Tuesday, in the face of a missing juror Daye said the court was not in a position to make a determination and, as such, could not start any evidence in the case.

“I have taken a decision at this point in time that we will adjourn the case…until Thursday,” stated Daye.

The judge noted that this did not mean that the case cannot be tried or moved forward. He listed the empanelling of another juror to complete the body of seven jurors as one of two possible options available. However, he noted that this could not be done immediately.

Stewart, Clevon and Grant are all charged with manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, and misconduct in a public office.

The allegations are that Deane was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody, where he was brutally beaten on August 3, 2014. Deane received severe injuries to his brain, which left him in a coma. He died three days later at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

It is alleged that the three cops were on duty at the police station at the time when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Corporal Stewart instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

— Anthony Lewis