BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE officer who investigated the murder for which Fitzroy Challenger and Jamal Bradshaw are being tried told the court yesterday (Jan. 22) that he arrested and charged Challenger, who was then a juvenile, in the absence of his parents and a lawyer.
Both Challenger and Bradshaw are accused of murdering 16-year-old Josh Smithen of St. Pauls. According to the prosecution, they inflicted injuries on him on the night of September 8, 2006 which caused his death on the following day.
Constable Anthony Morgan told the court that while on duty on the night of September 8 at St. Pauls Police Station, he received a report which led him to investigate. On arrival at the crime scene, Morgan said he did not see the victim but he observed some blood-stained grasses and heard persons speaking of what had transpired.
The investigator said he and another officer left the scene for the Pogson Hospital in Sandy Point where they saw and spoke with Dr. Wilson. The officer explained that he also saw Smithen lying on a bed waiting to be transported to the Joseph N. France (JNF) General Hospital in Basseterre. Smithen’s clothing, he said, were bagged and taken into police custody.
He told the court that on arrival at the JNF General Hospital, Smithen was placed in the Intensive Care Unit and on Saturday, September 9, 2006, after receiving information, he returned to the hospital and discovered the teenager had died.
The investigator added that on September 12, 2006 at the St. Pauls Police Station, he took a statement from Bradshaw in the presence of his mother and Constable Wayne Sutton. He said the accused gave the statement on his own free will.
The officer said Bradshaw was arrested following the execution of a search warrant at his home on September 13, 2006. He said that he also executed a search warrant at the home of Challenger and he too was formally arrested, and both accused were remanded at Her Majesty’s Prison.
Constable Morgan said he paid another visit to Challenger’s home on October 3, 2006 and “I was invited in by the caretaker...I found a blue shirt and a blue jean pant in the water tank of the toilet. On the left leg of the jean pant was a red stain [which] appeared to be blood.”
Morgan was allowed to read the statement given by Bradshaw on September 12. The statement spoke of how the deceased chased Bradshaw with a bottle in one hand and an ice-pick-like object in the other. It further read that Smithen threw the bottle at Bradshaw but it made no contact with him, after which the two began wrestling.
Bradshaw’s statement quoted Smithen as saying, “Ah mus’ f*@king kill you...” It also said that he took the ice-pick-like object from Smithen and swung it.
Under cross examination by Challenger’s defence counsel, Hesketh Benjamin, Morgan admitted to not asking his client anything about the matter and that he arrested him in the absence of his parents and/or a lawyer. He also admitted that no statement was taken from the juvenile.
He however explained that efforts were made to locate the juvenile’s parents.
As it was on the previous day of the trial, another witness, Nelson Challenger, claimed he has no recollection of what transpired on the night of September 8, 2006.
Nelson told the court he could remember going to a function on that night (the opening of Festival De Capisterre) but he could not recall what happened there.
Responding to questions by Bradshaw’s defence counsel, Dr. Henry Browne, Nelson told the court that he could recall giving evidence at the preliminary inquiry stage of the case. He was however shown a copy of his statement from that sitting and he identified his affixed signature. He said the evidence he had given at that stage of the case was truthful.
According to Deshawn Francis’ account of the incident, Bradshaw and Gregory Anthony Zakers were together that night when Smithen approached them. He said it was then that he [Deshawn] called out to Zakers and told him to “cool out”.
“Josh threw a bottle and Greg throw back one. When they were walking Josh was walking behind them, so they stood...Josh rushed into them. I don’t know where Fitzroy came from.
They, Josh and Jamal, were chucking. Josh had something in his hand. I don’t know what it was. Jamal had an ice pick. Fitzroy has a meat chopper. Jamal let go a stab, Fitzroy let go a chop and Josh dropped on the ground.”
He however admitted to not seeing and knowing if the stab and chop perpetrated by Bradshaw and Challenger respectively, had made contact with Smithen’s body.
Francis said he was on the hill when the incident took place and when he went down to the pasture “I saw blood coming out of his [Josh] mouth”.
Another individual, he said, chased Gregory and he fled.
The prosecution has had some difficulty in locating a number of its witnesses and bench warrants have been issued for them.
The case continues today and the prosecution is expected to close its case.
