No Blood in Pickup Truck, but Stains in Apartment: New Details Emerge in Noel Maitland’s Trial
During Thursday’s court session, the seventh witness from the prosecution, a chief crime scene examiner from the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), offered detailed testimony about evidence discovered at Constable Noel Maitland’s Chelsea Avenue apartment in St Andrew.
The examiner explained that on July 28, 2022, he found multiple stains resembling blood on a pair of drapes and on the wall to the left of the living room. He also saw similar stains on a cream-coloured cushion cover, which had been placed on top of a barrel. “I also observed additional stains on a cream-coloured cushion cover on top of a barrel,” he testified.
The witness stated that after the inspections, photographs of the evidence were transferred from a memory card to two compact discs and uploaded to an image server at INDECOM’s office. He also mentioned that, prior to his visit to Maitland’s apartment, he had collected a toothbrush from Donna-Lee Donaldson’s mother’s home, which was also photographed.
As detailed in the Gleaner report, the crime scene examiner detailed how the cushion cover was collected and placed in an envelope, while the drapes were wrapped in brown paper, sealed, and labeled before being sent to the Government’s forensic laboratory.
After examining the apartment, the examiner said he proceeded to the Half-Way Tree Police Station to conduct a forensic analysis of a pickup truck. However, no traces of blood were found on the vehicle after three chemical tests, all of which came back negative. The truck’s driver was present during the examination.
The trial, which has been underway for about six weeks, is expected to continue for several more weeks. Recently, one of Maitland’s neighbours testified that he had asked for security footage at the apartment to be deleted on multiple occasions.
RELATED: Sophia Lugg Shares Maitland’s Letter To Donna-Lee
Right before the trail started, Donna-Lee Donaldson’s mother, Sophia Lugg, took to social media to express hope that Maitland would eventually “confess.”
