The lawyer for Kofhe Goodman yesterday grilled a crime scene investigator over her handling of exhibits that were submitted for DNA testing. Goodman, who is also known as Edwardo Ferguson, is on trial, accused of the murder of 11-year-old Marco Archer, who went missing on September 23, 2011. He has denied the allegation at his trial before Justice Bernard Turner. Goodman's lawyer, Geoffrey Farquharson, suggested that Constable 3003 Denria Johnson mishandled clothing that was found in a garbage bag outside a five unit pink and white condominium complex at Yorkshire Drive, Cable Beach, on September 28. Police found the naked maggot-covered body of a male in bushes behind the complex.
Prosecutors allege that body is Archer's. When she first testified on April 24, Constable Johnson said she collected a Bob Marley T-shirt, a pair of tan pants, blue striped boxer shorts and a pair of Nike slippers from the scene. Johnson said the shirt appeared black because it was wet, but it was discovered the shirt was really "dark gray" once it was dried in a forensic dryer to maintain the integrity of the exhibits. Johnson said the shirt was not in the same state as it was when she submitted it to the lab as it was now "cut up". Farquharson showed Johnson a photograph of the 'wet' clothing on a piece of butcher paper taken at the Crime Scene Unit on Thompson Boulevard.
Farquharson said, "Never have we seen such a miracle since Moses and the burning bush. The clothes are wet but the paper is dry." Johnson explained that the clothes were not "dripping wet" but "damp". She added, however, that in her opinion damp and wet meant the same thing. Johnson said she took the clothes to the Forensic Lab on the evening of September 28 to use the dryer. She said she logged into the lab and put the clothing into the dryer. Johnson denied a suggestion from Farquharson that she was wandering through the lab unattended. She said Inspector Thompson took her to the area where the dryer was located.
Farquharson asked Johnson if she wore a protective Hazmat suit at the lab as she claimed she did at the crime scene. Johnson said she had not, leading Farquharson to ask if there was a possibility that she had transferred trace evidence to the clothing. She said personnel from the lab had not informed her about any contamination. Farquharson said Johnson's continuous changing of gloves while handling of the evidence during her initial testimony was to mislead the jury into believing that she was "punctilious" in adhering to proper protocols.
Johnson denied the suggestion. Addressing the chain of custody, Farquharson questioned whether the exhibit officer DC Gray 309 checked the contents of the exhibits when she handed them over on October 3. Johnson said it was not his place to open the packages as he was only the exhibit officer and not an analyst. When Farquharson asked why it took her a week to submit the clothing to the lab, Johnson said they needed to be dried. The case continues today. Garvin Gaskin, the deputy director of public prosecutions, Neil Brathwaite, the assistant director of public prosecutions, and Darell Taylor appear for the Crown.
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