Maitland Slapped with Additional Charge While Prosecution Reveals New Details About Donna-Lee Donaldson’s Disappearance

Kedean BrownOctober 4, 2022

During his bail hearing in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston on Tuesday, Constable Noel Maitland was slapped with an additional charge related to the disappearance and suspected murder of his girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson.

Maitland, who was initially arrested on suspicion of being involved in Donaldson’s disappearance by the Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime Unit (CTOC) on July 27, was later charged with her suspected murder on August 2. Donaldson’s remains were never found, and today Maitland was charged with preventing the lawful burial of a corpse. Donaldson’s mother, Sophia Lugg, reportedly became overwhelmed with emotion at the announcement of the new charge and broke down in tears.

The prosecution disclosed details of their case against Maitland as they opposed his bail application, revealing the alleged series of events after Donaldson’s murder.

Prosecutors say that on July 13, the constable went to a car wash along Lyndhurst Road, where he made inquiries about having his couch washed. Maitland reportedly told an attendant that his cousin had “bleed out in a little part of the settee” after injuring his hand. Later that day, Maitland hired a truck driver to transport the piece of furniture from his New Kingston apartment to the car wash. The driver went to Maitland’s apartment complex, where he observed Maitland and another man enter an apartment unit on the second floor and then exit with a red or brown couch. The policeman led the driver to the car wash. The third unidentified man joined them there, and all three men’s movements were captured on CCTV footage, according to prosecutors.

Additionally, it was shared with the court that on July 13, Maitland called one of his neighbours who had several CCTV cameras around his apartment and told him that the cameras may have recorded him walking by with a spliff. Explaining that the footage could potentially jeopardize a potential promotion, he expressed that he wanted it deleted.

Prosecutors explained that Maitland went to another resident’s apartment on July 14 and told him that someone he knew had gone missing, then asked to see CCTV footage of July 12. After seeing parts of the footage, Maitland wanted it to be deleted. In the video, he was allegedly seen entering his apartment with a woman and then later exiting without her. Prosecutors told the court that the constable called the resident multiple times in the following days, leading the man to feel pressured. Maitland reportedly expressed concern that the police may want to see the footage.

Maitland was once again remanded, and his bail hearing has been set to continue next Thursday, October 13.