MONTEGO BAY, St James — A post-mortem report from the United States is delaying the case against Mitchroy Sterling who is accused of killing a man by setting him on fire during an argument at a bar in St James.

Sterling faces murder charges in connection with the death of Clyde Harty following the incident in April.

When the matter was mentioned in the St James Parish Court on Wednesday, Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton enquired about difficulties in receiving the original post-mortem report from the United States.

The post-mortem was conducted on May 10 but a certified copy is yet to be presented.

On Wednesday the clerk of court explained that while an electronic copy of the post-mortem report is available, the Crown is pressing for a printed copy that is signed and stamped.

“The challenge is, when I reached out to the hospital they indicated that it can be mailed to the investigating officer’s place of residence at the time. They are having a challenge in sending it by FedEx because they are low on cash. This is what they said in their e-mail, hence the reason why we are unable to track it,” the clerk said.

“There is no original document to this. This is the document?” Fairclough-Hylton questioned in reference to the copy on file.

“My documents are purely electronic. It doesn’t matter what you do, you are only going to get an electronic copy….This is the original; it is not a photocopy. It is not that an original is there and the photocopy was sent to you. Their [report] is electronic, and pretty soon Jamaica is going to get there,” added Fairclough-Hylton.

Sterling’s attorney, Jermaine Campbell, suggested that a statement should accompany the electronic copy of the report as he argued that most electronically prepared official documents carry some form of seal or stamp to verify authenticity.

On the matter of bail, Campbell, who is new to the case, asked whether an offer had been made.

The judge explained that she had considered it previously but did not grant it because the person Sterling would live with is a witness in the Crown’s case.

The clerk then requested an October 29 mention date as she stated that she is confident the official report will be available by then.

But Fairclough-Hylton set the matter for case management on October 7 and ordered Sterling remanded.

According to investigators, what began as a verbal altercation at a bar in St James escalated into a deadly dispute.

Sterling allegedly drenched Harty in gasoline then ignited a fire and hurled it at him, setting the man ablaze in front of stunned onlookers.

Harty was rushed to Cornwall Regional Hospital with severe burns before being airlifted to the United States for emergency care where he died.