The murder trial of the Cordell Farrington, accused of slaying his friend in Grand Bahama was on a short adjournment at the end of the week, after forensics experts shared key testimony about the state of murder victim Jamaal Robbins’ remains and what lead to his death.
However it was the testimony of Detective Sergeant Michelet Merinard, attached to the Central Detective Unit in Grand Bahama, that gave insight into the purported sequence of events that resulted in Robbinsﾒ death. He told the court details about a certain box found at the residence of Farringtonﾒs girlfriend at 11 Poinciana Drive in Freeport, which contained the remains of the murder victim.
He told the court that on October 26, 2003, Farrington led he and Inspector Clarence Reckley to the remains, which were found in the den of the house, along with some personal belongings of the accused.
The discovery was made after Farrington confessed in detail to killing Robbins.
As detective Merinard began giving those details, the victimﾒs mother – Christine Scott – became emotional and was escorted out of the courtroom.
The officer told the court that according to Farrington, Robbins was lying on the bed in an apartment that the two shared, when the accused went on the outside and got a piece of iron. He returned to the bedroom and hit Robbins over the head three times, killing him, the court heard.
Detective Merinard further testified that Farrington marked the area where he had dumped the body with a fallen tree, and visited the site on occasion until it was decomposed enough for him to remove from the area.
Once collected, police forwarded Robbinsﾒ remains to DNA specialist Tracey Michelle Johnson at the Fairfax laboratory in Virginia.
She described how samples were taken from a tibia bone and matched with two blood samples taken from Robbinsﾒ parents Edward Robbins and Christina Scott to positively identify a genetic link and hence the remains.
The court also heard testimony Thursday from American anthropologist Dr. Anthony Falsetti who was one of the persons who examined the skeletal remains. He referred to Robbinsﾒ skull entered as evidence and pointed to the areas where he was struck, causing his death.
Portions of the skull had to be reconstructed, he testified, as a result of the damage from the blows sustained.
Justice Anita Allen adjourned the trial until Tuesday morning at 10 am.
Farrington is expected to face further separate trials for the murders of four Grand Bahama boys who went missing and ultimately were determined to have been the victims of foul play.
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
