THE Keith Clarke murder case involving three members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) was on Thursday pushed to April 13, at which time a preliminary hearing is expected to start.

Corporal Odel Buckley, Lance Corporal Greg Tinglin and Private Arnold Henry were arrested and charged with murder after Clarke was shot more than 20 times inside his Kirkland Heights home in St Andrew during a 2010 military operation.

The Court of Appeal recently ruled that the matter should proceed to trial but a preliminary hearing must be conducted to determine whether certificates of immunity issued to the three soldiers were given in good faith by former National Security Minister Peter Bunting.

When Clarke, an accountant, was killed in 2010 a state of public emergency was in effect.

When the matter was called up on Thursday in the Supreme Court in Kingston, Justice Vinnette Graham-Allen ordered that the defendants return to court on April 13, at which time defence attorneys would be in possession of the list of witnesses to be called in the preliminary process by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

“What we are doing here, and will continue on April 13, is the case management of the preliminary process. The first order is that the DPP writes to the defence team to indicate the list of witnesses to be called. The next order is that the defence must put in writing the receipt of statements on or before April 12, 2023,” she said.