Noel Maitland to know court’s ruling on bail application Oct 13 Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Noel Maitland, the policeman accused of killing his girlfriend, social media influencer Donna-Lee Donaldson, will know on October 13 if he is to be offered bail.

The bail application was made before the Home Circuit Court in Kingston on Tuesday. In addition to the murder charged, Maitland was charged with preventing the burial of a corpse.

Donaldson was last seen with Maitland on July 11 and was reported missing on July 13. The police believe she was killed on July 12.

During the bail hearing, the prosecution outlined the details of the case they would be pursuing in court. The prosecution did admit that the case is circumstantial as there is no eyewitness to the murder of Donaldson, nor have the police found her body.

However, due to evidence collected, including a blood sample at the police constable’s apartment, the prosecution asserted that the 24-year-old social media influencer is dead.

Based on the prosecution’s assertions, Donaldson’s death may have escalated from an argument between the two over a photograph of Maitland’s babymother that was on display in his apartment.

The prosecution, in outlining the allegation, said that Maitland admitted to being in an argument with Donaldson over the photograph.

The prosecution is opposing bail out of concern that Maitland may tamper with the prosecution’s case.It is alleged that Maitland has already tried to get a security guard that works at the apartment where he lives to lie to the police and destroyed evidence, namely “the bloody couch” that was at his apartment.

The prosecution is also alleging that Maitland’s accomplices are still at large and that he pressured a neighbour to delete CCTV footage.

Donna-Lee Donaldson’s mom, Sophia Lugg (seated, centre), is surrounded by supporters outside the Home Circuit Court on Tuesday after the man accused of killing her daughter appeared in court in downtown Kingston.

His attorney, Christopher Townsend, said that his client is not a flight risk as he had surrendered to the police when contacted. The attorney said, too, that his client cooperated with the investigative authorities.

He said that the prosecution focused on the blood that was found at the apartment, on a couch, and a CCTV camera at a neighbour’s house.

Townsend said several forensic teams went to the apartment at different times to collect evidence. On one of the occasions when Maitland was not present for the search, blood was found, the defence said.

The attorney suggested that questions surrounding the quantity of the blood and the circumstances surrounding the find render the prosecution’s case weak.

He denied that any blood was seen or found in any settee. He also questioned “the bloody couch”, saying that the witness could have seen red dye being washed out of the couch.

Townsend also questioned the prosecution’s reliance on footage of a video camera that showed Donaldson entering the apartment but the camera was not positioned to show anyone leaving the apartment complex.

He said that there is a major hole in the prosecution’s case as large as a gateway.

The prosecution said that Maitland and Donaldson shared an on-and-off relationship for over three years. Between the night of July 11 and the early morning of July 12, Maitland picked up Donaldson in his grey BMW.

The prosecution said Donaldson spoke to several of her family members – including her mother Sophia Lugg – up to 4:46 on the afternoon of July 12, who were able to place her at Maitland’s New Kingston apartment building.

The prosecution said an analysis from cellphone sites put Donaldson’s phone in the New Kingston area during the time of the calls.

The prosecution pointed out that Lugg was concerned when she didn’t see her daughter return home, nor was able to get her on the telephone.

It’s alleged that Maitland called Lugg inquiring about Donaldson’s location. He allegedly told her that they had an argument, and she left.

The prosecution alleged that Maitland went to a hardware store on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew where he hired a truck driver to take a couch from his apartment to a car wash on Lyndhurst Road in St Andrew.

Further allegations are that Maitland and another man went into his apartment and took out the couch, which was carried to the car wash.

The prosecution also alleged that what appeared to be blood was seen coming from the couch while it was being washed.

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