Ballistics expert's testimony backs up claim Intratec used in US missionaries murder

Evidence from a senior forensic ballistics expert appears to have confirmed reports that one of the killers of two US missionaries in St Mary used an Intratec weapon to commit the murder in 2016.

The two missionaries, Harold Nichols, 53, and Randy Hentzel, were found dead in Wentworth district, St Mary, between April 30 and May 1.

Hentzel’s body was found in bushes with a gunshot to the back and his hand bound behind him while Nichols’ body was found some distance away from his colleague in a pool of water with a gunshot to his chest and six chops wounds to his head.

Both men had left their homes on separate motorbikes to visit a site where they would be working on a home as part of their charitable services in the parish.

Andre Thomas, one of the accused killers, is currently being tried in the Home Circuit Court on two counts of murder.

His cousin, Dwight Henry, who is now the prosecution's main witness, pleaded guilty to killing one of the missionaries under a plea deal and was given a life sentence in January, with a stipulation that he serve 28 years in prison.

The court previously heard that Henry, in a new statement tendered as part of his plea deal, had reported that an Intratec firearm was used to kill the men.

The forensic ballistics expert, a deputy superintendent of police, who had analysed a spent shell and cartridge casing found at the scene, yesterday testified that analysis showed that the weapon used belonged to an Intra Tec family.

“The possibility that it could have been fired from an Intra Tec was confirmed using a reference standard that was an Intratec firearm, that was test-fired from our lab stock," he said.

However, the expert witness also told the court that he had used a global database and his own knowledge of weapons in narrowing down the possible weapon.

Further in his evidence, the witness also identified the spent shell as a Luger 9mm cartridge. The cartridge casing was also said to be from the same brand of ammunition.

The missionaries arrived in Jamaica in October 2002 as part of Christian Service International (CSI) missionaries before moving to Teams for Medical Missions in 2004.

Henry, during his testimony, told the court that it was Thomas who had used a gun to stop the men while they were riding by in the bushes.

According to him, he had ordered one of the men to lie down on the ground and tied his hands behind him. He claimed he later shot the man in the back of the head after Henry gave him the gun.

This he claimed was after they both chased the other man who had run off and was shot and chopped in the head by Henry.

However, during cross-examination from one of Henry’s lawyers, Leroy Equiano, the court heard that Henry had initially told the police that he was the one who had shot both men and that he hated white people and that they were wicked.

But Henry has since told the court that he does not recall making those utterances.

Henry is expected to continue undergoing cross-examination when the case resumes.

Attorney-at-law Althea Freeman also represented Thomas.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com