The murder trial of Fredrick Francis resumed yesterday with videotape evidence of him confessing to killing two Austrian visitors in Bimini last year and a play-by-play demonstration of how he executed the crime and got away.
Austrians Bernhard Bolzano and Barbara Frein von Perfall were shot at close range in their hotel room at the Bimini Blue Water Resort on July 23, 2005.
The bodies were discovered hours later. Francis is charged with rape, armed robbery and two counts of murder.
Inspector Stanford Innis told the court Tuesday he was behind the video camcorder on July 26, 2005 at the police station in Bimini during the confession and when the accused led police to the crime scene. The inspector revealed he also provided transcripts.
The prosecution produced the two video tapes and the six-woman, six-man jury watched as the accused told Sergeant Daryl Rolle and Inspector Cleophas Cooper what he did on that fateful morning. Francis sat motionless in court yesterday throughout the video playback.
During the apparent confession, Francis said he left his home in Porgy Bay after 2:00 a.m., went in the back of the yard, retrieved the shotgun and made his way to the resort.
The accused told police that when he got in the area of the Bimini Blue Water Resort in Alice Town, he noticed an open sliding door to one of the rooms and jumped over the fence.
The court listened as he told police how he went inside the room and saw a female lying in the bed close to the sliding door and a male in the other bed.
Francis said when he closed the curtain to the sliding door, the female woke up and as she was about to scream, he pointed the shotgun at her and told her not to.
That’s when Francis says the man woke up and he asked them where the money was, but they said they didn’t have any.
He said he then asked the couple if they wanted to die and they said, “no,” and the woman reached in her bag and gave him several U.S. dollars.
Francis said after he asked the husband if he had a condom, the man said, “yes,” went into the bathroom and got it for him.
He revealed that the woman was about to scream again when he gunbutted her in her head and she started bleeding.
Francis said he had sex with the woman while her husband watched and after he was finished, he made the woman get in bed with the husband.
Then, Francis said he tied Perfall’s hands behind his back, made him lay down between the two beds, put a pillow on his back and shot him.
Afterwards, he put a pillow on the baroness’ chest and shot her.
Francis said he took a pouch which contained a wallet and camera before cutting off the light and closing the door.
The jury listened as the accused admitted to putting the shotgun back in its case, burying it in his backyard and throwing two shotgun shells under the house floor.
In the second video, Francis directed police officers from the police station to the resort, showed them where he came up on the beach, hopped the fence and where the visitors were positioned.
The video showed the blood-stained mattresses as Francis pointed out where he tied Perfall up and shot the couple.
The jury also watched as Francis showed how he left through the sliding door, jumped back over the fence, ran up to the stairs leading to the beach and walked home.
Telling police he lived far from the hotel, the accused directed them to the house, walked to the beach side and showed them the route he took home that morning where he buried the gun and placed the sock he had before he went to sleep.
Under cross-examination by defence attorney Carlson Shurland, Inspector Innis was pressed about specific lines in the transcript and explained that they were partial words and he was interpreting what he thought the officer was about to say.
Inspector Innis admitted he did visit the crime scene prior to the videotaping and could have found it without the assistance of the defendant, but he was not present when the shotgun and shells were retrieved.
Asked if that was because they had already been retrieved before the videotaping, Innis said, “I guess so.”
“So this was just an exercise….to show off your camera skills,” said Shurland, but Innis said he didn’t know what the defence attorney meant by that.
Prosecutor SandraDee Gardiner also called three Bimini residents to the stand Tuesday afternoon.
Schannesta Newbold said Francis frequented the Tiger and Hats Convenient Store and Restaurant where she worked and, on July 23, 2005, he came in twice.
First, just after 12 noon and purchased souse and Backwood, and about a half an hour later, he bought chips and ice-cream, paying with a U.S. $20 bill both times.
Under cross-examination, after revealing he wasn’t the only one who visited the store that day, she admitted it was not unusual for Francis to pay with a U.S. bill, purchase souse or to be in close proximity to her as the store was very small.
Frank Weech, a resident of Dundas Town, told the court he was the owner of a licenced shotgun, described it and said he had not seen it for about a year before the incident.
He said he was not in Bimini when the murders took place and when he was the shotgun again was at the police station.
When asked by Shurland to read the serial number of the shotgun on the licence card he replied, “MU3054F.” When asked to read the serial number on the shotgun, Weech picked up the gun and said, “MV3054F.”
The defence attorney objected to the prosecution’s request to have the gun licence be entered into exhibit, stating that he didn’t know which gun they were talking about.
The court also heard from Weech’s wife Yvette, who said she had taken the shotgun to the police station on December 31, 2005 to have it licenced and that was the last time she saw it.
She told the court, when questioned by Shurland, the shotgun was never reported stolen, neither did she report a break- in and no one else besides her and her husband knew where the shotgun was kept.
Following her testimony, Justice Stephen Isaacs revealed that the jury was requesting to view the crime scene.
He explained that normally he would not raise an issue as to whether or not a jury should view a locus. He then asked the foreman and the other 11 jurors to consider how practical and logistical it would be.
After a brief adjournment, the foreman informed the court that they had taken everything under consideration and were withdrawing their request. Trial is expected to resume this morning.
By: By LEDEDRA MARCHE
Source: The Freeport News
