Noel Maitland is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Donna-Lee Donaldson.
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Racquel Porter reports
By Racquel Porter
The presiding judge in the murder trial of Noel Maitland began summing up the case on Tuesday afternoon and will continue in the Home Circuit Court on Thursday.
Mr. Maitland is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Donna-Lee Donaldson. He is also charged with preventing the lawful burial of a corpse.
Ms. Donaldson was reported missing on July 13, 2022.
The prosecution addressed the jury on Monday, while Mr. Maitland's attorney, Christopher Townsend, completed his closing arguments on Tuesday.
"If the puzzle don't fit, you must acquit."
That line echoed throughout the courtroom as Mr. Townsend delivered his closing address to the jury.
Mr. Townsend challenged the prosecution's case, which relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, likened by the Crown to a jigsaw puzzle with no missing pieces.
During his nearly two-hour submission, he urged the jury - which consists of four men - to rely on their own life experiences when weighing the evidence.
Mr. Townsend said he had seen situations where a man maintained relationships with two women who both knew about each other.
According to him, "That's a real thing in the streets."
Mr. Townsend reminded jurors that the burden of proof rests entirely with the Crown and must meet the standard of being sure of guilt.
He stressed that even if they believed Mr. Maitland knew about the crime but did not commit it, their verdict must be 'not guilty'.
He emphasized that the burden never shifted to Mr. Maitland and that his client had nothing to prove.
Mr. Townsend told jurors that once they had any doubt, they were obligated to return a not guilty verdict.
He also cautioned them against allowing emotion to influence their decision, referencing the emotional testimony of Ms. Donaldson's mother.
Jurors, he said, must assess the demeanour of each witness and consider whether they were truthful or had something to hide.
Mr. Townsend told jurors that the prosecution is asking them to infer death without a body.
He compared the case to chickens disappearing from a locked coop after a mongoose was found with feathers on its mouth.
Mr. Townsend argued that the prosecution's own evidence shows Ms. Donaldson was not in the cage. He pointed to the testimony of one of Donna-Lee's friends, who had said that when she called her minutes after 1:00 p.m. on July 12, 2022, she heard traffic.
The attorney added that a cyber-forensic expert explained that Ms. Donaldson's cellphone pinged on a cell tower that was 400 metres away from the apartment. Noting that Ms. Donaldson is an influencer, Mr. Townsend suggested "they don't leave their phones".
Stressing that Donna-Lee was outside of the apartment, the defence attorney urged the jury not to allow anybody to take them for a fool.
Mr. Townsend said Ms. Donaldson's mother spoke positively of his client's character and noted that Mr. Maitland had checked on her while she was ill overseas.
He added that, in a surprise to the prosecution, Mr. Maitland's father testified that Donna-Lee's mother told him during a taxi ride that she did not believe his son killed her daughter, though she felt he "knew something".
Mr. Townsend argued that if the Crown's primary witness did not believe Mr. Maitland was the killer, how could the prosecution expect the jury to believe.
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