DNA confirms blood found in cell as Deane’s, court hears

WESTERN BUREAU:

Anika Lowe, senior forensic science officer at the Forensic Institute’s DNA Unit, testified in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Monday that blood samples collected from several items and areas outside the prison cell where Mario Deane was fatally beaten in 2014 were confirmed to be his.

Lowe was giving evidence in the ongoing trial of Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, who are charged in connection with Deane’s death.

“The DNA profile from the blood that was found on the fingernail clippings allegedly taken from the left hand of the deceased, Mario Deane, matched the DNA profile obtained from the blood found on a swab allegedly taken from the passageway in front of cell number four at the Barnett Street police lock-up in Montego Bay, St James,” Lowe stated. “It also matched a DNA profile from blood on shorts allegedly taken from suspect Adrian Morgan.”

To confirm the identity, Lowe compared the DNA profiles with samples taken from Deane’s mother, Mercia Fraser, via a buccal swab. She said the results strongly supported the conclusion that Deane was the source of the blood found in the tested samples.

“Mercia Fraser ... cannot be excluded as being the biological mother of the source of the blood ... . The probability of maternity is 99.998 per cent. Therefore, the source of the blood cannot be excluded as Mario Deane,” she added.

Lowe noted that a swab taken from a nearby drain was inconclusive, likely due to environmental damage such as heat, moisture, or chemical exposure, which compromised the DNA.

Under cross-examination by defence attorney Dalton Reid, Lowe acknowledged that the testing did not include DNA from Deane’s father but maintained that he findings were conclusive based on maternal comparison.

Following her testimony, High Court Justice Courtney Daye adjourned the trial until May 5 after being informed that a doctor from Cornwall Regional Hospital, who was scheduled to testify yesterday, was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict.

Stewart, Clevon, and Grant are charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office as they were allegedly at the Barnett Street facility when Deane was beaten on August 3, 2014. Stewart is also charged with perverting the course of justice for allegedly ordering the cleaning of the cell, where Deane was beaten, before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com