Crime Scene Investigator Continues Testimony in Noel Maitland Murder Trial

KINGSTON, Jamaica — After more than a month-long break to address administrative matters, the murder trial of Constable Noel Maitland resumed on Monday in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston, with a crime scene investigator from the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) continuing his testimony.

The investigator recounted his visit to Maitland’s Chelsea Manor apartment in St Andrew in July 2022, where he searched for evidence following the disappearance of Maitland’s girlfriend, 24-year-old social media influencer and entrepreneur Donna-Lee Donaldson. She was last seen alive at the apartment complex where the policeman resided.

Using circumstantial evidence, detectives concluded that Donaldson was dead. Maitland was subsequently charged with murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse.

During examination-in-chief by the prosecution, the investigator detailed for the seven-member jury how he collected, packaged, and stored key evidence from Maitland’s apartment. Among the items he retrieved were curtain drapes with several stains resembling blood and a cream pillow cushion.

He also described collecting a toothbrush belonging to Donaldson from her mother’s St Andrew home for DNA analysis.

“I collected the package [the brown curtain] and placed it in storage in our exhibit room at INDECOM headquarters in Kingston. At that time, I alone had access to that room. I brought it here to court intact and unopened,” he told the court.

He further explained, “When I delivered the [cream pillow cushion] to the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, it was in the same condition. On July 11, 2024, I took it from the lab, returned it to INDECOM, and stored it in the exhibit room. I last saw it this morning. The package is intact and unopened.”

Regarding the toothbrush, he stated, “I wrapped it in sterile paper and took it to the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine. I last saw it on July 11, 2024. It was intact and sealed. It was handed over to INDECOM by Miss Sophia Lugg, the mother of Donna-Lee Donaldson.”

The investigator was also asked to identify photographs of cameras installed at the apartment complex and the directions they faced.

Defence Suggests Taxi Driver or Stalker May Be Linked to Donna-Lee Donaldson’s Disappearance

He is expected to return to the witness stand today, where he will be shown photographs of the interior of Maitland’s apartment to identify the curtains he previously noted had what appeared to be bloodstains.