The family of murder victim Dorla Pitterson, 45, a resident of Sandhill Village, had to wait two years, but in the end, got some satisfaction when Orlando Wade, 33, on a unanimous verdict by the twelve-member jury, was found guilty of murder.
On June 24, 2008, Pitterson, a mother of two, was discovered dead inside a well, partially naked. Her floral skirt had been rolled up to her waist and she was apparently raped, beaten and strangled to death by Wade.
The crime, which occurred directly behind Sylvia’s Cool Spot, a once popular bar in the Sandhill area, was remembered by all as a particularly savage one.
Barrington Rosales (Rosales’ brother had been dating Wade’s sister at the time) was the key witness in the case, and he was called upon by Senior Crown Counsel, Yohanhseh Cave, to recount the events leading up to his discovery of Wade inflicting injury to Pitterson on the night in question. He sealed the case for the prosecution.
Rosales told the court that at the time of the incident, he was residing in a board house adjacent to Sylvia’s Cool Spot, where the murder took place, and that on June 23, 2008, sometime around midnight, he retired to his bed.
Rosales told the court that, “I went to bed … I heard a screaming, it was coming from across the bar at Sylvia’s Cool Spot. I went back to bed and approximately ten to fifteen minutes afterwards, I heard the screaming again. I got up and went across the road to between two houses [the bar and another building].”
According to Rosales, this was when he stumbled upon Wade sitting on top of Pitterson, on her waist, beating her. She was lying on the ground.
Rosales claimed to have known Wade for almost fifteen years, and further explained that he had also known Pitterson, because she was a resident of the Sandhill Village as well.
Rosales took the jurors through vivid imagery of his encounter that night: “I saw a lady on the ground and ‘Landy’ Wade [Wade’s nickname] was on top of her [Rosales, in court, estimated the distance between Wade and himself to be about 10 feet; Rosales said he could see clearly due to two back lights situated in the yard]. I said ‘Boy, da weh you di do wid dat lady?’ He said if I know what is good for myself, that I should go from there”.
Rosales did not contact the police and returned home to resume his rest.
Rosales told the court that the next morning, June 24, 2008, his brother asked him to visit Wade’s sister, who resided in the same yard as Wade but in a different house, to drop off some money for her.
Rosales said that after he gave his sister-in-law the money from his brother, and while he was leaving the yard, Wade pushed his head out of a window and the two had an exchange about the previous night.
“Wade pushed his head out the window. I said, ‘Boy da weh yo mi di do last night with that lady?’ He told me ‘Ah kill the %$#@!’. I told him ‘Boy you di #@!% around.’ He told me if I no believe, go look inna the well. I didn’t say nothing else, I just ride off. The well where he told me the lady in, I went there at Sylvia’s Cool Spot. I saw a cardboard box and a black umbrella and I saw three toes pushing out under the umbrella. Cold seed come on me and I went to the phone [to call the police],” Rosales said.
Wade’s defense attorney, Kevin Arthurs, argued that it could not have been Wade who committed the murder because he had been at his home along with his mother, his uncle and aunt. The defense furthermore relied on the fact that Rosales was a drug user, referring to him as a “sprang-head”.
The defense also claimed that Rosales was blaming the murder on Wade because of bad blood on Rosales’ part.
Wade’s mother took the stand and told the court that her son had been at her home during the time frame of the murder, and that she had seen Rosales at her residence on the morning of June 24, 2008, but that there were no discussions of murder, and furthermore, that Rosales had asked Wade for a cigarette, and he had given it to him, and after that, Rosales left.
The defense also tried entering a document that they said was made by Rosales, which conflicted with his court testimony. The document was not allowed into evidence as Cave objected to it based on the fact that the statement had no other reference name apart from Rosales’.
According to Cave the document was allegedly signed by a justice of the peace, but there was no name provided to specify the justice of the peace, and that justice of the peace was never called upon by the defense for validity.
The defense told the court, however, that the justice of the peace explained that he/she wished not to attend the court.
Another key witness was the pathologist, Dr. Mario Estradabran, who explained to the court his observations during Pitterson’s autopsy.
Estradabran said that he had concluded that she had been strangled by the neck within a timeframe of three to five minutes, and he certified this as the cause of her death. He also found that she had had vaginal and anal intercourse prior to her death.
The twelve-member jury, consisting of eight women and four men, went into deliberation and returned almost three and a half hours after, with a unanimous verdict of guilty for Wade, in the murder of Pitterson.
Wade will reappear in court on Friday, January 21, 2011, when he will call on witnesses for mitigation pleas. Justice Lucas will then render his decision about his sentencing.
Pitterson’s sister, Geraldine Flowers, told us after the verdict, “Well, we have to say that we are satisfied because we got justice, and we thank God for everything; we hope he gets what he deserves. It’s very hard because she was the one who used to help all the children and the family do their homework, and so on; we really miss her, so we hope he gets what he deserves.”