BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE retrial of murder-accused Jamal ‘Deuce Man’ Bradshaw and Fitzroy ‘Big Man’ Challenger began this morning (Jan. 19) at the Basseterre High Court of Justice with the calling of three prosecution witnesses.
This is the case’s second hearing; the first being held in February last year where both men, along with Gregory Anthony Zakers, were tried for the murder of 16-year-old Josh Smithen of St. Pauls.
The victim was said to have attended the opening ceremony of the St. Pauls’ Festival De Capisterre which was held on September 8, 2006. Smithen was taken to the Joseph N. France General Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on the following day.
While Zakers, during that trial, was exonerated of the charge, the jury was undecided regarding the other two individuals.
This morning’s case began with an opening statement by the prosecution, which is being led by Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Paulina Hendrickson, and evidence was given by Barbadian Forensic Pathologist Dr. Stephen Jones.
Dr. Jones said he performed Smithen’s post mortem on September 11, 2006 during which he discovered two wounds. The first, he said, was a laceration of the scalp which measured 0.7cm in length. He said there was also a “punch out depressed fracture” of the skull which was related to that injury. Dr. Jones said the other injury, which he described as “superficial”, was a laceration located on the left side of the scalp.
Smithen’s death, according to the doctor, was due to a stab wound to the head which could have been caused by an object with both a circular and a flat component such as a screwdriver.
The deceased’s mother, Sharlene Smithen-Norford, was the second witness to take the stand and she told the court of the last time she saw her son before he was wounded.
Norford said at about 8:00 on that faithful night [September 8, 2008] Josh and herself had a conversation, after which she prepared herself to go to the opening of the Festival De Capisterre as she was a vendor.
“While there something happened...I saw a crowd gather on the pasture in the schoolyard and I heard somebody say ‘a fight’. I believe it was after 11:00. Where I was there standing, I saw Jamal running from the crowd...”
Norford testified that she called out to Bradshaw and asked him if he can’t behave himself, after which he looked at her and continued running. She said she started “running and crying” and proceeded to call one of her other children to see about Josh.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Norford told the court that she went home in a worried state and only felt a little relief after she was spoken to by the son she sent to see about Josh and another individual. That comfort, she said, was short-lived.
“A fellow came and spoke to me. I felt a little better and I went in to sleep. I didn’t sleep until morning. At about 3:00 I heard somebody outside calling. I got up and looked outside and saw two policemen. They spoke to me. I put something on and we went to the hospital...JNF.”
At the hospital, as Norford told the court, she saw her unresponsive son lying on a bed.
“When we got there, I went by Josh’s bed. I spoke to him but I don’t know if he heard me. He didn’t respond. He was on a bed with all kinds of wires attached to his body. I started to pray. After I prayed, I went to the doctor then I went home.”
Norford said after she left the hospital she visited Bradshaw’s home where she spoke to his cousin before going to her home.
“While there, somebody tell me something and I started crying and I went back up the hospital. While there, I saw Josh on the bed lying down. I started shaking and telling him to say something. He was still so I knew he was dead. I cried and cried and cried and cried and cried.”
The distraught mother, who once again broke into tears, managed to regain her composure and further testified that after leaving the hospital she paid another visit to Bradshaw’s home, where she saw and spoke to two individuals.
Norford told the court that she knew Josh to have been good friends with both Bradshaw and Challenger.
Roshella Challenger, the third witness of the day, told the court that she was at the function and saw when a “fight broke out” involving “a gang of boys”, among whom she was able to identify Bradshaw, Challenger and others.
“I saw Josh on that night down on the pasture lying down on the ground like he was knocked out. Deuce was letting go several stabs. Josh didn’t do anything while Deuce was letting go the stabs. It [the object used in the incident] looked like an ice pick or a knife. Deuce ran towards the gate. The fight continued.”
She said a friend tied a “headtie” around Josh’s head and loaded him into a jeep. She also explained that before that took place, Fitzroy ran towards Josh with a “chop knife” but he was warded off by the friend.
When asked how she was able to see the details of the incident, Challenger told the court that she was positioned on the top of a hill overlooking the pasture. She also said lighting in the area assisted her in seeing.
Jamal Bradshaw’s lawyer, Dr. Henry Browne, while cross-examining Challenger, put to her that her testimony in court is based on stories she had heard and not on what she had seen; an allegation she denied.
While being questioned by Fitzroy Challenger’s lawyer, Hesketh Benjamin, Challenger said she did not see at which part of Josh’s body Bradshaw was stabbing.
The case continued tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
