BELMOPAN, Mon. May 6, 2019– When the head of Dangriga pastor, Llewellyn Lucas, was discovered in a bucket in the pan of a pickup truck owned by William “Danny” Mason, it was sensational news that was widely reported nationally and regionally, so when the trial started in the Belmopan Supreme Court the country’s attention was focused on the trial.

Mason and his co-defendants were previously being defended by attorney Hebert Panton, who was later joined by attorney Rachael Montejo. Then something happened: the two attorneys were off the case and the trial before Supreme Court Justice Antoinette Moore came to an abrupt halt. Rumors circulating at the time were that Mason had fired his attorney, Panton. Panton, however, denied that Mason fired him.

For the better part of one month, the court (and the country) waited for Mason to indicate that he had hired a new defense attorney.

Mason and his co-defendants reportedly will return before Justice Moore on May 14, for the continuation of the trial. This time, however, Mason will be represented by Dexter Todd, an attorney from Mason’s native Guyana. Justice Moore is hearing the case without a jury.

Mason and his co-accused, Terence Fernandez, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo, have been charged for the July 16, 2016 murder/beheading of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas.

In evidence adduced by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, who is presenting the Crown’s evidence at the trial, Lucas was seen on video footage that had been recorded by cameras at Mason’s house. Mason’s body was never recovered by police investigators, who are of the view that his remains were burnt at Mason’s farm.

To prove that premise,  the prosecution may introduce DNA evidence to confirm that the suspected human flesh that was found at Mason’s farm on the George Price Highway are the remains of Lucas.

At the time Mason was initially accused of the murder, his wife, Melissa Ferguson, a Canadian national, was also charged with conspiracy to kidnapping. In February 2017, however, the charge against Ferguson was dropped when the then Chief Magistrate, Ann Marie Smith, held a case management conference and discovered that there was no evidence linking Ferguson, to the conspiracy to kidnapping charge with which she was initially assessed.

When the murder trial resumes, Keron Fernandez will be defended by court-appointed attorney Bryan Neal, while Baja Shoman, a Legal Aid attorney, will defend the other three accused men.