MONTEGO BAY, St James — A digital forensic officer on Monday read aloud what he said were texts from the phone of young Shineka Gray’s accused killer, Gregory Roberts, who boasted of making a sacrifice as he warned his ex-girlfriend to repay money she had fleeced him.

Roberts is on trial for the 2017 murder of the 15-year-old Green Pond High School student.

Detective Inspector Kamar Smith, who is assigned to the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC), told the St James Circuit Court that on February 4, 2017, he was at the office of the Communication Forensics and Cybercrime Unit (CFCD) when his supervisor asked him to conduct digital forensic analysis on a specific matter. He was a detective constable at the time.

The cop, who has served 12 years in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), stated in his evidence-in-chief, led by prosecutor Renelle Morgan, that he was given a white Samsung Galaxy mobile phone belonging to Roberts. He said he attached it to a UFED touch device. That is a portable device used to access and collect data from the widest range of digital devices using Cellebrite UFED without altering the information.

The officer stated that after extracting the information from the cellphone he copied it, then showed it to the investigating officer who pointed out some items he said were valuable to the investigation. These included photos and text messages sent and received.

According to Detective Inspector Smith, he prepared a digital forensic report that included an analysis of his findings as well as two compact discs (CDs) containing information of evidential value.

The officer read aloud some of the texts that were allegedly sent and received from Roberts’s Samsung Galaxy phone on January 29, 2017:

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend at 8:22 pm: “I’m going to make you know me now… I’m going to video myself.”

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 8:58 pm: “I’m making a video now with myself doing something.”

Message from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 9:02 pm: “Please don’t hurt me… I’m scared.”

Message from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 9:06 pm: “Please don’t hurt my daughter.”

Message from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 9:07 pm: “I bring the money back.”

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 9:19 pm: “It’s over now baby… I just made a sacrifice.”

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend at 9:58 pm: “You will hear what happen, but make sure I get ge… (sic)”

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 11:03 pm: “Let [ex-girlfriend] know I want back the money she scammed.”

Message from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 11:09 pm: “You gave to her what nobody never tell you to do (sic).”

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 11:13 pm: “She made a deal with me which you know about.”

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 11:14 pm: “So, make she know that.”

Message from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 11:20 pm: “Sorry, no refund.”

Message to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s mother at 11:24 pm: “You still don’t take me seriously after I show you what I…”

The officer also testified that he saw certain calls to and from Roberts’s phone and that one of the images that he extracted was a thumbnail which was copied to the CD. He stated that the thumbnail depicts a female lying on the ground with what appear to be two human hands over her and red-like substance similar to blood. He said she was clad in a tiger-stripe skirt. The image was shown in court and matched what the officer had described.

When the prosecutor asked the police witness if he saw a video during his analysis, he said ‘no’, but explained that a thumbnail indicates that an actual video existed. He went on to say that while he didn’t see a memory card in the phone, it did have the capacity to hold one.

When asked if he could see a date or time on the thumbnail, Detective Inspector Smith said ‘no’, explaining that a thumbnail is a small version of the actual image or video and does not typically carry that information.

The trial, which began on November 23, has so far heard from 14 of the 18 witnesses. Eleven witnesses gave sworn evidence, and two other statements were read into evidence.

Gray’s body was discovered in bushes in Irwin, St James, on February 1, 2017 with multiple stab wounds.

Roberts and Mario Morrison were subsequently arrested and charged with the schoolgirl’s murder. Morrison pleaded guilty to her murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

The trial continues on Tuesday.