MONTEGO BAY, St James -The two court cases arising from the murder of social media influencer Aneka “Slickianna” Townsend inched along on Thursday, with one matter pushed back to next March and another to next month.

The trial of security guard, Rohan “Early B” Rose was scheduled to begin on Thursday in the St James Circuit Court, but the Crown failed to prepare the witnesses. As a result, the jurors were not present.

Rose’s lawyer, Martyn Thomas, was also absent thus attorney-at-law Tamika Spencer-Anderson filled in for him.

The challenges encountered on Thursday necessitated a rescheduling of the trial. As a result, High Court Justice Judith Pusey set it for March 19, giving the Crown sufficient time to properly prepare their witnesses.

Rose’s bail was extended.

The 47-year-old security guard is charged with misprision of a felony. This means he is accused of knowing about the matter but failed to notify the authorities.

The case against co-accused Rushawn Patterson, who is currently being held at the Half-Way-Tree lock-up, was also mentioned on Thursday, but he was not transported.

A Zoom hearing was planned but there were no facilities available to host him on the platform.

Patterson was remanded in custody, in absentia, until October 4.

On October 21, 2022 Townsend’s scantily clad body was retrieved from the sea in Reading, between St James and Hanover.

According to the police, Townsend had travelled from Kingston to Montego Bay where she was picked up by Patterson at approximately 7:30 pm on October 20.

During the evening they visited a restaurant in Hanover and a guest house in St James. At some point during the night an argument reportedly developed between them, which resulted in Patterson reportedly strangling Townsend and disposing of her body.