WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — A man who was in custody at the time of Mario Deane’s death gave a chilling account of hearing Deane being beaten by inmates in his cell on August 3, 2014.

Dean, who was arrested for the possession of a ganja spliff, was reportedly placed in cell number four, which hosted mentally ill men.

The witness, who was convicted of a crime, is the crown’s eighth witness in the trial of the three cops currently underway in the Westmoreland Circuit Court.

The witness in his testimony in chief also gave the reaction of the cops when they were informed of the incident.

The witness also gave an account of the cops’ behaviour and comments after refusing bail for Deane because of comments he made about the police in general.

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

It is alleged that Deane 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 Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

The three cops were reportedly on duty at the police station when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that 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.

— Anthony Lewis