A forensics expert has told the High Court that the body of Samara Bristol was discovered in a bushy area in St Thomas with a fractured skull and a rope tied around one ankle.
Taking the witness stand as the murder trial of Roger Delisle Sealy continued in the No. 4 Supreme Court before Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell and a 12-member jury, forensic scenes of crime officer Sergeant Mervin Grace recalled his grim findings on November 21, 2021.
He saw pieces of synthetic hair along a path leading to the body of the deceased, lying face down and located in a bushy area 86 feet away from a cart road in Mangrove, St Thomas, the court heard.
He said: “I saw the pieces of synthetic hair which was seen along the path, resembling the synthetic hair on the head of the deceased. I saw a rope with a piece of metal tied to the right ankle of the deceased. A gold-coloured anklet was on the left ankle, a gold-coloured bracelet was on the left wrist. Two rings were found on her left ring finger. A gold-coloured necklace was found around the neck, and two nose rings were found under the disfigured face of the deceased. The skull of the deceased was cracked and open, and the face of the deceased was disfigured.”
Sealy, of Airy Cot, St Thomas, is accused of murdering Bristol between November 16 and 21, 2021.
Earlier in his testimony, Sergeant Grace said he had gone to the Airy Cot home of Bristol’s mother, Samantha, and the accused on November 17, 2021 and found heat and fire damage and destruction to the kitchen, living room and dining room, while the bedrooms and bathrooms sustained heavy smoke and water damage.
The expert continued: “I formed the conclusion that the origin of the fire was a three-seater couch in the living room. The cause of the fire is underdetermined, and I therefore concluded that the cause classification of the fire is incendiary. Incendiary means that it had to have been caused by human hands and started in an area where it should not have started.”
Sergeant Grace observed what appeared to be blood on the roadway, on an insect screen and on the floor of the house and took swabs.
Later that day, he went to Vaucluse and was directed to a black-and-yellow motor lorry in a bushy area “some distance away from the roadway”, he told the court. He took swabs from the tray of the lorry after it was transported to the District ‘E’ Speightstown Police Station.
The following day, the officer went to a home in Halls Village, St James, where he conducted a forensic examination and collected a doormat and a pair of socks. He was also presented with a T-shirt, pants and boots belonging to the accused, which were taken into custody, Grace told the court.
Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC and State Counsel Paul Prescod are prosecuting the case, while defence counsel Sian Lange represents Sealy.
The trial continues on Thursday.
(JB)
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