Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

No motive found! Defence attorney pokes holes in Crown’s case

No motive found! Defence attorney pokes holes in Crown’s case

The police have not determined a motive for the February 2018 murder of Truymayne ‘Passion’ Daway.

This was revealed last Friday as the Prosecution closed its case in the trial for the three persons accused of killing Daway — Rafael Harrigan, Vernon Bernard, and Maybelline Rodriguez who the Crown previously described as the “honeytrap” used to lure Daway to his death on the day in question.

During cross-examination of one of the Crown’s witnesses — Detective Inspector Jumo Shortte –, Bernard’s attorney Richard Rowe noted that the police tried to ascribe a motive of jealousy between Bernard and Passion.

However, Rowe highlighted that evidence from Daway’s family members in the earlier parts of the trial indicated there was no bad blood between both men.

No evidence places any defendant at the scene


While noting that the police has not come up with a motive, Detective Inspector Shortte also said there was no eyewitness, DNA or fingerprint evidence to indicate any of the defendants were present at the scene of the crime.

Rowe, who proceeded to poke holes in the Crown’s case, asked the witness if the items recovered from the crime scene — including a used condom, a condom wrapper, a piece of toilet paper, a baby wipe, and a plastic bottle — would be crucial for forensic evidence. In response, Shortte said it would be good, but he did not know if they were tested for DNA or fingerprint evidence.

Shortte also testified that although three of 10 fingerprint samples that were sent abroad were viable for comparison and verification, he was not concerned that they did not match any of the three defendants as he always sees things like that happening.

One match


Only one fingerprint recovered from the vehicle matched one of the defendants — Harrigan. None of them matched that of Vernon Bernard who was also sent for verification.

Shortte noted that it was possible the three unidentified prints could have been someone else and that person could have stolen the vehicle.

Rowe also questioned if robbery could not have been the motive for Daway’s death. The attorney said previous testimonies from Passion’s family indicated he was wearing some rings and a chain when they last saw him on the night of the eventual murder.

Rowe said none of these items, except a hand chain, were found on Passion’s body when it was removed from the scene. The witness said it was possible.

Was gun seen in video real?


Meanwhile, Bernard’s attorney asked Shortte if he was certain the video recovered from Maybelline Rodriguez’s phone from WhatsApp messages between him and Bernard was that of a real gun. Although the witness testified that it was real, Rowe indicated he could not possibly say for certain and that he, Detective Inspector Shortte, would be speculating.

The attorney questioned if the video was shown to the force armourer to ascertain if the gun in it was real and the witness indicated it was not. Shortte also testified that he was uncertain if the gun in the video could commit a felony. However, he said given the context of the investigation, the gun was real.

Defence Counsel Rowe then said that given the context of the investigation, the police have ascribed a realness to the video without certainty. He reiterated that the witness was speculating and if he cannot be sure about the realness of the weapon then he cannot expect the jury to be sure either.

Shortte also testified that he was unable to say where the video originated from. He said it was possible that the video could have been a copy of a video taken from the internet or elsewhere.

Were text message definitely about Daway?


Finally, the witness noted that the WhatsApp messages between Rodriguez and Bernard did not specifically mention Passion’s name. Rowe pointed out it mentioned a ‘black boy’ which another witness had testified was the name of another person who worked at the car wash.

Shortte said that based on the description given in the message, as well as certain context, it was determined they were speaking of Passion. However, Rowe indicated that nothing was explicitly stated about Passion in the message.

He also noted there was no indication in the weeks leading up to the message that Rodriguez was to meet Daway as the crown had stated.

The witness indicated this was true.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×