Neighbour Denies Deleting CCTV Footage in Noel Maitland Murder Trial

Kingston, Jamaica – A neighbour of Constable Noel Maitland testified on Tuesday that he did not delete any footage from a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system at the Chelsea Manor apartment complex in St Andrew, where Maitland’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson, was last seen alive in July 2022.

The neighbour, who is the sixth witness in the ongoing murder trial at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston, was questioned about the potential loss of key surveillance footage as part of the prosecution’s case against Maitland. The police constable is charged with murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse following Donaldson’s disappearance.

Prosecutors allege that Donaldson was killed sometime between July 12 and 13, 2022, inside Maitland’s apartment. They cite circumstantial evidence, including blood found on curtains, and argue that her body was unlawfully disposed of afterward. CCTV footage reportedly shows Donaldson arriving at the complex, but there is no video evidence of her departure.

On Monday, the neighbour acknowledged that the CCTV system only retains footage for five days before it is automatically overwritten. He claimed ignorance of this detail, stating he only became aware of the limitation when investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) came to inspect the system.

During cross-examination by Maitland’s attorney, Christopher Townsend, the neighbour firmly denied having erased the footage or taking any action that would have led to its deletion.

“No, I did not erase the footage,” he said. When asked if he did anything that might have caused the footage to be lost, he replied again, “No, I did not.”

Prosecutor Claudette Thompson, during re-examination, probed whether the witness had verified if the cameras were recording properly. The neighbour admitted that while he had checked if the cameras were functioning visually, he did not know how to confirm if the recording feature was operational.

Further, he testified that Maitland had asked to view the footage and expressed concern about someone going missing, reportedly pressuring him multiple times to delete it. When asked why he did not notify the authorities, the neighbour explained that he had no knowledge at the time of a missing person and had not observed anything suspicious in the footage that would have prompted a report.

“At that point, I had not seen anything online, so I did not have that context,” he said, adding that it was only after his mother called and he read online reports that he began to suspect something was wrong.

The trial is scheduled to continue today.