In a compelling closing argument, Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson systematically dismantled the defense presented by Constable Noel Maitland, who stands accused of murdering his girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson, and preventing her lawful burial in July 2022. Thompson urged the seven-member jury to reject Maitland’s unsworn statement that blood found in his apartment resulted from Donaldson suffering a miscarriage, characterizing his overall strategy as one of denial, deflection, and dismissal of overwhelming evidence.
The prosecution constructed a meticulous narrative for the jury, portraying the case as a complete ‘mental jigsaw puzzle’ where every piece of evidence converges to point unequivocally at the defendant. A central piece of this puzzle remains a missing couch, allegedly power-washed at a Lyndhurst Road car wash where an attendant testified to observing blood ‘like rice grain’ seeping from it, accompanied by a swarm of flies. Thompson highlighted the conspicuous absence of this couch while noting that another couch, along with blood-stained curtains, shoes, and a cushion cover, remained in the apartment precisely because they were not implicated.
Thompson accused Maitland of engaging in a deliberate campaign of misdirection, particularly by attempting to shift suspicion toward his ‘babymother,’ Kathy-Ann. The DPP reminded jurors that police investigators found no evidence to charge Kathy-Ann, noting she was not involved in picking up Donaldson, was not seen at the car wash, and did not participate in the alleged cover-up. The prosecution further questioned the whereabouts of Donaldson’s iPhone and raised suspicions about a different phone being submitted as evidence.
In a dramatic rhetorical flourish, Thompson invoked scriptures from Proverbs 6:16-19 to frame Maitland’s alleged actions as embodying the ‘six things the Lord hates,’ including ‘a proud look,’ ‘a lying tongue,’ and ‘hands that shed innocent blood.’ She characterized his courtroom behavior and statements about a ‘love triangle’ as prideful, his accusations against others as wicked imaginations, and his phone calls to a truck driver involved in moving the couch as ‘running to mischief.’
Concluding her argument, Thompson asserted that the evidence presented over the eight-month trial formed an incontrovertible whole, leaving no room for reasonable doubt. She implored the jury to deliver a verdict that is ‘true and just.’ The trial now proceeds to the defense’s closing arguments, with Trial Judge Leighton Pusey anticipating jury deliberations to commence by Thursday.
