SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The crime scene investigator who visited the Barnett Street Police Station, where Mario Deane was beaten in 2014, told the court Tuesday that a substance resembling blood was seen coming from one of three pipes attached to the cell block when he visited on August 3, 2014.

However, during the trial at the Westmoreland Circuit Court, the forensic investigator was unable to say which cell the pipe was coming from. The block has four cells.

“I noticed a red substance coming from the drain pipes of the cells,” stated the witness, who was describing his observations after being given access to the cell block where Deane was beaten.

Three members of the constabulary are on trial for the death of Deane.

According to the witness, blood was also noticed on the floor within the cell, as well as on the lower wall and flooring across from the cell where was Deane was being held.

The forensic investigator, who is the Crown’s seventh witness and third police officer to testify, also told the court that the floor inside and at the entrance of cell number four was wet as it appeared water was spilt and had settled across the floor.

“It (the floor) was wet. It appeared glossy, and water settled on it. It was like spilt water,” said the witness as he fielded questions from the Crown.

The witness said he photographed the area and then placed markers to identify exhibits before taking another set of photos. He said that exhibit marker one was used to mark the drain pipe from which blood was coming, while exhibit marker two marked the blood spattered in the passageway. Cotton swabs were used to collect samples of what appeared to be blood coming from the drain pipe and blood spatter from the cell in question.

The three cops on trial are District Constable Marlon Grant, Corporal Elaine Stewart, and Constable Juliana Clevon, who are all charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.

During the trial Tuesday, the Crown made an application for a compact disc with photos taken by the investigator on August 3.

However, Martin Thomas, the lawyer representing Stewart and Grant, objected to the images containing what appeared to be blood. He argued that it cannot be definitively stated whether the substance resembling blood is really blood or where it came from. He argued that if such a photo were shown to the jury, it could be prejudicial. But Thomas said he had no objection to the showing of the photo that showed spattered blood on the walls.

However, the Crown said that photos 53 and 54 show the pipe coming from the cell, while the substance resembling blood has been proven to be blood.

Defence lawyer Dalton Reid, who is representing Clevon, also had concerns. He told the court that the evidence in the case would show that his client was not on the compound at the time of the incident with Deane, but that after the incident, she accompanied Deane in an ambulance to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in the parish. Reid contended that his client would not be aware of what transpired and that any evidence could place her in a prejudicial position.

Supreme Court Judge Justice Courtney Daye has reserved a ruling.

During the presentation, all three accused sat and listened attentively from the prisoners’ dock.

The investigator also spoke about requesting the clothing for the other three men who were in the cell with Deane from the sergeant who gave him access to the Barnett Street Police Station.

These items were photographed, packaged, sealed, and labelled. They were later taken to the forensic lab in Kingston for testing. He said that the images taken of the cell block and the clothing items of the three men were downloaded and saved.

The three men in question are Adrian Morgan, Marvin Orr, and Damion Cargill, who were charged in connection with the beating death of Deane. Morgan and Orr pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to time served in custody, while Cargill was deemed unfit to plead.

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

It is alleged that the three cops were on duty at the police station when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Corporal Stewart, who has an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

The case is expected to resume today at 10:00 am.