Defence raises trafficking question in cross-examination
Jamaica Gleaner | 2025-12-05 | Original Article
Defence attorney King’s Counsel Larry Smith on Thursday raised the possibility that Donna-Lee Donaldson was trafficked, during cross-examination of the Crown’s final witness in the Noel Maitland murder trial.
Smith questioned a detective inspector who supervised the July 2022 investigation into Donaldson’s disappearance.
“In the course of your policing across 34 years, you have encountered circumstances where there is a claim or allegation of taxies being used in the abduction of a person?” Larry asked.
The detective inspector, however, said he was not aware.
Prior to this, the witness, in answering questions about human trafficking, had acknowledged that human trafficking does occur on the island.
In further questioning, the lawyer asked the witness whether someone resembling Donaldson was spotted in Old Harbour, St Catherine, on July 17, 2022.
The witness, in reply said, “The information was received.”
He, however, admitted that he had not “purposely canvassed” the area.
When asked if Old Harbour was close to a fishing village, he said, “Not to my knowledge.”
Constable Noel Maitland, formerly of the St Andrew Central Police Division, is on trial in the Home Circuit Court charged with murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse, following Donaldson’s July 13, 2022, disappearance.
Smith further asked whether the witness knew that Donaldson had received a text from an unknown number and that her last call came from overseas. The detective said he was unaware of both.
Under further cross-examination, he confirmed that a call attributed to Donaldson had pinged in the Dumfries Road area of Kingston and that he had visited and questioned residents but obtained no statements.
Questioning then turned to Maitland’s child’s mother, Kathany Smith. The detective said he knew she had left the island and not returned.
He acknowledged that having requested that both she and Maitland be placed on a watch list, he would have expected notification if she had departed through a legal port of exit.
He said her departure was not discussed during the case review as she did not leave during the investigation, but he could not recall the date she travelled. He added that she declined a request to provide a statement.
Earlier testimony from a senior officer indicated that Smith initially agreed to give a statement but later withdrew, allegedly saying, “Uncle Caple told me not to.”
The detective confirmed that ‘Uncle Caple’ was a district constable and said he had requested the man’s phone records after hearing that they were related.
The detective also testified that when he informed Maitland at the Grants Pen Police Station that he would be charged with Donaldson’s murder, Maitland responded, “Alright.”
Donaldson’s mother, Sophia Lugg, previously said she last saw her daughter on July 11, 2022, when Maitland picked her up. Lugg last heard from her the next morning. Donaldson’s brother testified that he saw her via FaceTime on July 12 at Maitland’s apartment. Maitland has said that she left after an argument that day.
The trial continues Monday before Justice Leighton Pusey and a seven-member jury.
tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com
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