Video clips and pictures of deceased tendered in court
August 17, 2015 By Hawa Amara
Freelance photojournalist for the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Co-operation (SLBC), Cyril Harold Smith yesterday tendered in court video clips and pictures of the remains of Sydney David Buckle a.k.a. DJ Clef, who was allegedly murdered by Mbaimba Moi Foray (LA Chocolate) and Avril Oredola Renner on 25 May, 2015 at the No.1 Johnson Street,Off Aberdeen residence of the first accused.
The witness told the court that on 25 May, 2015 he got information about an abandoned corpse at Macaulay Street, Murray Town, in Freetown.
He said he went to the scene and saw the abandoned corpse, opposite the cemetery and dustbin. “I took video clips and still pictures of the remains of the abandoned corpse with my Sony digital camera, and I retained the raw material in my hard drive,” he said.
The clips and still photos were produced and tendered in court as exhibit and part of the Court’s records.
Smith revealed that four days later he contacted the head of the Ebola centre at Kingharman Road to know whether the deceased was an Ebola patient, but the team leader, a certain Mr. Kamara, confirmed the body was Ebola-free.
The witness said on 31 May, 2015 one Joy Tucker told him her nephew was missing and that they were at the Aberdeen Police Station to make a statement.
The witness said he met Joy at the Aberdeen Police Station, where he was introduced to the elder brother of the deceased, adding that he shared with them a photo of the corpse he had shot via his phone which they later printed.
He said the still photos were identical to the face of the missing person, his tattoos and tribal marks on the chest of the deceased. These pictures were tendered in court and marked as exhibit D1-4.
The witness continued that on 1 June, 2015 he again went to the Aberdeen Police Station and met the Local Unit Commander (LUC) and head of Family Support Unit (FSU), to provide information on the missing person. He said the video clip in his computer was showed to the LUC and head of FSU at the station, adding that the police subsequently went to search the home of the first accused in Aberdeen but they could not gain access as the gate was locked.
He said when the first accused was brought to the station, he directed them to one Mr. Boima at Sir Samuel Lewis Road in Freetown to collect his keys. He said he accompanied a police officer to conduct a search at the accused’s home after they had collected the keys, and took a video of the house.
The witness was led in evidence by Director of Public Prosecution, Suliaman A. Bah.
The accused persons are represented by O.V. Robin-Mason and A.Y. Omo-Lisk.
The matter continues.