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FBI witness gave DNA evidence in Danny Mason beheading trial

HeadlineFBI witness gave DNA evidence in Danny Mason beheading trial

BELIZE CITY, Tues. July 23, 2019– The murder trial of William “Danny” Mason and four others, Ashton Vanegas, Keron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo, who have been indicted for the July 2016 beheading of Dangriga pastor, Lewellyn Lucas, continued in Belize City today for a second day in the Supreme Court of Justice Antoinette Moore, sitting without a jury.

This morning defense attorneys finished with their cross-examination of scenes of crime technician, Barrington Montero, who testified about his processing of the men after they were in police custody, taking samples from their clothing that he sent overseas for DNA analysis, and who also visited the murder scene at Mason’s ranch, located at Mile 31 on the George Price Highway, where he had collected several pieces of potential evidence to be used against them, including burnt bones.

After Montero finished from the witness stand, the court set up a television monitor and after they overcame a few technical glitches, the remainder of the day was devoted to a Skype conference call from the United States, as the court heard the testimony of an FBI nuclear DNA examiner who has 11 years’ experience working at an FBI lab and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and who has provided expert testimony in about a thousand cases.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, who is leading the Crown’s evidence, laid out the necessary foundation before her application for the court to accept the person on the teleconference line as an expert witness, who would provide evidence in the trial — stunning DNA evidence — in what has to be the most sensational murder in modern Belize.

The expert testimony of the FBI’s DNA expert, however, played to an empty courtroom, except to the seven attorneys on the case — five defense and two prosecution — and a half a dozen law school students and reporters from most of the city’s media houses.

Outside, heavily armed Gang Suppression Unit police and other specialized police were the solemn guardians of the court’s parameters, keeping the public at bay.

The expert witness on the 32-inch television monitor only made reference to the notes on the case when absolutely necessary. Apart from that, in a carefully numbered sequence, it was explained that the blood that was examined from “patches” of clothing that three of the accused men were wearing, confirmed the presence of the DNA of Pastor Lucas.

On the indictment, Ernest Castillo is the first accused. Castillo had given police a caution statement but after the court examined the circumstances he alleged the statement was given under, Justice Moore ruled not to accept the statement into the evidence against him.

A shirt that Castillo was wearing at the time of his arrest and from which blood stain samples were sent for testing, confirmed the presence of the DNA of Pastor Lucas.

In some instances, the DNA expert told the court that the samples were up to “140 octillion times more likely to be the DNA of Lucas” (an octillion is a number followed by 27 zeros). Patches from Castillo’s shirt and short pants tested positive for Lucas’s DNA.
The DNA that was found from the sample that was taken from a shirt that Terrence Fernandez had been wearing was said by the expert to be 150 trillion times more likely to be that of Mr. Lucas.

And the male DNA that was found on short pants that Keon Fernandez was wearing was said to be 310 million times more likely to be that of Mr. Lucas.

At the end of the DNA expert witness testimony at 5:35 p.m., when Justice Moore called upon attorney Baja Shoman, who is representing Castillo, to begin her cross-examination of the expert witness, Shoman asked for the court’s permission to begin tomorrow, when the trial returns to Belmopan.

The witness agreed to be available tomorrow, Wednesday, for cross-questioning from the defense attorneys.

As they exited the courtroom, three of the attorneys made comments to reporters.

Attorney for Danny Mason, Dexter Todd, a Guyanese employed by Mason, sort of downplayed the significance of the evidence confirming the presence of Pastor Lucas’ DNA.

“All that took place, basically, is that, as you would recognize, there were various samples that were taken by your forensic specialists here. Those samples were sent to the U.S. and they were analyzed by the FBI laboratory technicians, who are specialists in the field. All you have transpiring is the findings of the specialist at the FBI lab, from the FBI lab in relation to the exhibits that were sent,” he said.

Attorney Bryan Neal, who is defending Keon Fernandez, was asked: “How does our system handle this kind of evidence; what provisions are there in the Evidence Act to deal with this kind of evidence?”

“Well, the DPP was just telling me a while ago in court that this is the third case that DNA testing has been tried in. DNA is an international standard that is used, so that we accept DNA evidence, but what we have in Belize, the problem is the collection of samples that are eventually tested. So, I think that the local authorities need to focus their attention on collecting evidence in a more legally sound manner,” he replied.

Attorney Norman Rodriguez, who is defending Ashton Vanegas, offered: “Until the witness has been cross-examined, I would not be able to tell you that it would have any effect on any of those people. Still, I would reserve those comments for those attorneys who represent those people. But until the witness has been cross-examined, I cannot say that the accused are affected.”

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