SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The prosecution’s focus on a pair of pants allegedly worn by Mario Deane on the day he was fatally beaten while in police custody continued on Monday.

A forensic officer with 25 years’ experience, the Crown’s 11th witness to testify in court, was unable to clearly see a pair of pants presented by the prosecutor as she was testifying remotely, by Zoom. The witness was asked to again attend court virtually on Wednesday, April 28, at 9:00 am to complete her testimony.

Her inability to clearly see the pants came as she testified about items she received for analysis from an investigator from the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) on September 15. The witness said the exhibit labelled PP1 contained a swab of what appeared to be blood stains from the scene of the crime, exhibit PP2 contained a swab of stains resembling blood from a bedpost in cell number four, and exhibit PP3 contained what resembled blood stains from the cell walls.

The witness told the court that she also received a bag labelled JC1 containing a brown and black shoe belonging to Deane; a sealed envelope, labelled PP5, containing left- and right-hand fingernail clippings taken from Deane during a post-mortem; and exhibit PP9 which contained blue trousers belonging to Deane.

The Crown asked the witness if she would be able to identify the trousers if she saw them again. She replied in the affirmative. The Crown then requested that the witnesses be shown the package and its contents. That was when the challenge occurred.

Earlier in the day, a forensic scientist assigned to the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine had suggested that there were discrepancies in the labelling of two packages she received for analysis in the case.

The expert, who has 16 years’ experience, was the Crown’s 10th witness in the ongoing trial of three cops charged in connection with the fatal beating Deane received while in police custody in 2014.

The three accused are Corporal Elaine Stewart, and district constables Marlon Grant and Juliana Clevon, all of whom are charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office. They all made an appearance in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Monday.

The Crown’s 10th witness, who also testified via Zoom, recalled receiving three items labelled RE1-3 from the police on August 4 and another two, RE4-5, on August 19, 2014. The labels indicated that the items were connected to a case of wounding with intent.

RE1 contained a swab of what appeared to be blood samples collected from a drain pipe outside the cell block at Barnett Street Police Station. RE2 contained a swab of what appeared to be blood samples collected from the passageway of the cell block. RE3 contained a pair of grey multi-coloured shorts belonging to one of the inmates — Adrian Morgan — who was in custody with Deane. The other package, RE4, contained a grey T-shirt, a grey merino, grey shorts, and a pair of red shorts belonging to another inmate, Damion Cargill. RE5 contained a white T-shirt, khaki shirt, and black jeans shorts belonging to a third inmate, Marvin Orr.

Morgan, Cargill, and Orr 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.

On Monday, the 10th Crown witness told the court that upon opening the package, closer examination revealed that the shirt in question was beige in colour. During cross-examination by defence lawyer Dalton Reid, who is representing Clevon, the witness also said that while the police had written grey on the package with the shorts, her checks revealed that it was in fact multi-coloured with grey just one of the colours present.

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 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 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.