SOPHIA Lugg, the mother of Donna-Lee Donaldson who police Constable Noel Maitland is accused of killing, told the seven-member jury for the murder trial that she was stunned when the cop called her phone, asking if she had heard from her daughter.

Donaldson went missing on July 12, 2022. She was last seen in the company of Maitland, her boyfriend, who had picked her up in a black BMW motorcar on July 11 from the house in St Andrew where she lived with her mother and siblings.

The much-anticipated trial got underway Tuesday, with Lugg being the first witness to take the stand in the trial which is expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

“On the 13th [of July 2022] he said, ‘Mum, you hear from Donna-Lee?’ I said, ‘What sort of question is this, Noel? Donna-Lee left with you on Monday night. You would normally bring her back home. How dare you ask if I heard from her,’ ” Lugg said during the examination-in-chief as she was being quizzed by senior prosecutor Claudette Thompson.

“He said, ‘Mum, calm down. We had a little dispute — nothing big. She got upset and I was upset too, and she left.’ I asked him what he meant and if she had called a cab or if someone came and picked her up. He said he didn’t know because he was too upset.

“I said ‘Noel, that apartment has cameras. Please check the cameras. I need to know what took Donna from the apartment.’ He said I was right and I should give him some time to call me back,” Lugg told the court.

The mother, who became emotional and teary-eyed as she gave her recollection of events in the court in downtown Kingston, said that she became worried after she was not able to get Donaldson on the phone. She explained that the last time she spoke to her daughter was about 8:00 am on July 12, 2022 when Donaldson called and asked her if she could feed her dog named China. Subsequent to that, all calls placed by Lugg to Donaldson’s phone went unanswered.

“I spoke to her a little after 8:00 am the morning of the 12th on the phone. I went and fed her dog. I was just waiting on her to come home. She did not come home that day. I tried to call her. I wanted to go to the doctor because I was feeling sick, so I called her about after 4:00 pm. Donna-Lee was the only one who always took me to the doctor. I just laid there waiting for her to return my call, as she normally would,” Lugg testified.

“I waited and tried calling back the phone at 7:00 pm. It went straight to voicemail and did not ring,” she shared.

She told the jury that on the night of July 11, 2022 Donaldson was sleeping with her head in her lap when her phone rang. Lugg said that when she looked at the device the name that came up was Noel. She said she tried to prevent her daughter from being awoken because she knew she was very tired, however Donaldson ended up being alerted by the call.

“Oh yes, [I remember July 11, 2022]. I was home all day. It was a Monday. Donna-Lee was home with me throughout the day. She was sleeping all day. July 10 was her birthday and she took part in Carnival all day and was tired. Donna-Lee was fast asleep. Her phone rang and I was reaching for it to turn it off. I saw on the phone screen that it was Noel.

“Donna-Lee jumped from her sleep and she took the phone. She placed the phone to her ears and went to the verandah, then she returned to the bedroom. She started fixing her face and hair. She spoke to me. I didn’t answer her. She turned outside and I walked behind her to the gate. She was dressed in a black casual romper. She had on black slippers. When she got to the gate she went into Noel Maitland’s car,” Lugg said, recalling the last time she laid eyes on her daughter.

Maitland was charged with murder, as circumstantial evidence has led prosecutors to believe that between the afternoon of July 12 and July 13, 2022, he killed Donaldson. He was also charged with preventing the lawful burial of a corpse. The particulars of that offence are that between July 12 and July 13 2022, without lawful excuse, he prevented the lawful burial of the corpse of Donna-Lee Donaldson.

Maitland has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Donaldson was last seen alive at the Chelsea Manor apartment complex where Maitland lived.

Prosecutors told the jury on Tuesday that they were relying heavily on circumstantial evidence to try and prove Maitland’s guilt in the case.

While Donaldson’s body was never found, blood stains on curtains inside Maitland’s apartment, along with closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, among other things, form part of the circumstantial evidence that the Crown is relying upon.

CCTV footage shows Maitland and Donaldson arriving at the apartment but there was no video evidence showing her leaving the premises.

The prosecution also has evidence that a couch was removed from the apartment and later taken to a car wash to have a red substance resembling blood washed from it.

The trial resumes today when Lugg will continue giving testimony.