Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Ballistics Unit in the Forensic Services Branch, Superintendent Miguel Bernard says the role of ballistic evidence in the sentencing of former Member of Parliament Jolyan Silvera highlights the competence of Jamaican ballistic experts in securing convictions or exonerating the innocent.

“It reinforces the competence of the experts that we have here in Jamaica and our forensic system in general. It also shows the capacity of our experts and shows how mature our forensic system is in Jamaica,” Bernard said during an interview with JCF Senior Communications Strategist, Senior Superintendent Dennis Brooks.

“I believe that this is something that should encourage the public and reassure them that we have people who are highly trained, highly skilled, competent and qualified who can analyse evidence objectively and present findings that can stand up to scrutiny anywhere in the world,” he added.

Silvera was recently sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in prison for the November 10, 2023, killing of his wife Melissa, after ballistic evidence from forensic experts showed that she had been slain with his firearm.

READ: 20 years for Silvera

In January 2024, a forensic expert, after conducting several tests and comparisons, found that the projectiles taken from Melissa’s body matched the ballistic signature of her husband’s firearm.

READ: Silvera came clean only after forensic bombshell

“The criminal aspect of the investigation actually started by the diligent work of the forensic pathologist from the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine,” Bernard explained.

“In that post-mortem, the pathologist recognised that there were injuries on the body that were not consistent with a natural death,” he continued, noting “As a result of that the pathologist recovered projectiles from the body that were ultimately submitted to the ballistics department and the team did an excellent job in analysing that evidence and determining whether or not those bullets were from the suspect at the time firearm.”

He said previous samples and test fires were used to assist forensic experts in examining the ballistic fingerprints or markings of the firearm and applying standard techniques to conclude that it was the firearm from which the ammunition was discharged. He added that the findings were reviewed by an expert in the United Kingdom and stood up to scrutiny.

Bernard said that this case, along with others, has highlighted the importance of ballistic evidence in investigations. Additionally, he said the case reinforces the importance of properly documenting and preserving crime scenes.

“In this case, the first responding officer documented the crime scene by taking a photograph that was extremely useful because when the team analysed that photograph, they identified crucial ballistic evidence that, though was not recovered to this day, it help to create a greater picture during the forensic review,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bernard appealed to members of the public who visit crime scenes to assist the police by preserving the scene until investigators or other experts arrive at the location to conduct their analysis.