By Racquel Porter
Denvalyn Minott, the prosecution's main witness in the Tonia McDonald murder case, was recalled to the stand Tuesday morning to give additional evidence and identify voices in the secretly-recorded conversations between him and murder accused Everton "Beachy Stout" McDonald.
During his evidence, marshaled by the prosecution, Minott told the court that he began recording the conversations after Tonia's death.
Minott is serving 19 years for his role in the July 2020 death of the woman.
Five cellular phones, 10 SIM cards, and one memory card were the devices Minott said he used to capture the conversations.
Minutes into his evidence Minott told the court that he recorded the conversations after Tonia's murder.
But less than 30 minutes later he said he began recording conversations on a "black phone" the moment he received it from Mr McDonald until the night of Tonia's death.
Minott said the first phone Mr McDonald gave him was a BLU.
The convict said he purchased a memory card and inserted it along with the two SIM cards Mr McDonald gave him.
He said he recorded about 20 conversations on that cellular phone before Mr McDonald instructed him to return the device because it had information that could be traced back to him, and so he removed the memory card and returned the phone.
He further told the court that it was a similar story for the other phones.
According to Minott, he kept the memory card and later inserted it into his cellular phone which he handed over to the police when he was arrested in August 2020.
And earlier in the proceedings Minott identified his voice and the voice of Mr McDonald during the playing of excerpts from the secretly recorded conversations.
After the playing of one of the excerpts, Minott identified his voice asking Mr McDonald to give him $30,000 to pay the taxi operator who was in the businessman's yard.
Earlier in the trial, Minnott told the court while detailing failed attempts to kill Tonia, that a taxi operator transported him to Mr McDonald's home.
He also identified his voice saying: "Mi just want dat man to feel good."
In another excerpt, Minott identified a voice, said to be Mr McDonald's saying: " We no longer can meet again....we only can link pondem yah wehwiave."
When asked to explain what Mr McDonald meant, Minott said "Not to check him back, collect the money from the person."
Minott also identified his voice complaining "Work a tek too long."
He explained to the prosecutor that "work" was to kill Tonia.
Mr McDonald and his co-accused Oscar Barnes are on trial for the murder of Tonia McDonald.
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