Still no access to slain Gabriel King’s mom’s phone
MONTEGO BAY, St James — The mother of slain nine-year-old Gabriel King on Thursday failed to allow the police access to her cellphone, as ordered by the court last week. According to Amoi Leon-Issa’s attorney Chuckwuemeka Cameron, she has instructed him to “apply for leave for a judicial review”.
He told the Jamaica Observer he was unable to provide further information.
However, head of Police Area One Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifford Chambers told the Observer that Leon-Issa’s legal team had failed to file a stay of proceedings and the court order still stands.
He explained that a stay of proceedings, which stops an order from coming into effect, must be filed before an appeal is filed.
The police are expected to head to court on Friday to get the court order enforced.
A week ago, senior parish court judge Sasha Ashley gave Leon-Issa a November 24 deadline to provide the password to facilitate access to her iPhone 13 Pro Max. The police have indicated a desire to analyse information on the device as part of their investigation into the killing of her autistic son.
The judge also ruled, at the time, that Leon-Issa was not entitled to be present while her phone was being analysed by experts. However, her attorney may be present during the process.
The legal wrangling over access to Leon-Issa’s phone began on September 6 when the court granted the police’s request for her to allow them access within 48 hours. When that deadline was missed, lawmen again took the issue to court last Friday. After the judge issued a new six-day deadline that day, Cameron indicated that an appeal would be filed. He also said he would need to confer with his client.
On January 13 young King was found with his throat slashed, his body slumped on the back seat of his mother’s car. She had reported to the police, minutes earlier, that her car had been hijacked with the child inside. The shocking murder was widely condemned, with the police being urged to bring the boy’s killer or killers to justice.
Lawmen have steadily maintained that they have met roadblocks while working the case.
