Noel Maitland’s Plea Hearing Postponed to June
Constable Noel Maitland’s plea hearing for the murder case of his girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson, has been postponed until June 12, as multiple outstanding statements and forensic evidence have not yet been handed in.
Following his bail hearing in October 2022, Maitland was scheduled to attend his plea and case management hearing on Thursday. But Supreme Court Justice Vinette Graham Allen was informed by the prosecution that four statements were still outstanding, as was material from the Communication Forensic Cybercrime Division (CFCD).
The Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Jeremy Taylor, said that prosecutors “hope to get the statements by the end of April.” Some documents were reportedly shared with the defence team after they were received on Wednesday.
Chadwick Berry, one of the attorneys representing Maitland, informed the court that his team was only provided with transcripts of an audio file, which the prosecution has alleged implicates Maitland and not the audio recording.
Justice Allen noted that an extension had previously been given and an order made for outstanding statements to be submitted by November 11, 2022. Allen expressed her disgust that the outstanding documents were not handed over following the setting of the date for today’s hearing, which would have allowed Maitland’s defence team to examine the evidence, thus making the process leading up to the trial fair.
Justice Allan has ordered that all outstanding documents be submitted and disclosed on or before May 26.
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Allen also approved Berry’s request for a second bail application for Maitland to be heard on the next court date, citing concerns expressed by his client. The constable’s bail application was denied by Allan last October due to concerns that the accused would interfere with witnesses, commit an offence while on bail, or abscond.
