Trainee chef remanded for murder

Christopher Thomas

STAR Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

A St James man accused of the April 25 shooting death of Granville resident Cornel Murray, was remanded until July 2, when his case will be mentioned in preparation for preliminary examination.

Shou-Wayne Dawes, 29, a trainee chef, is before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court charged with murder, in connection to Murray's death. He was remanded last Wednesday.

The allegations are that on April 21, Dawes got into a verbal confrontation with Murray, a taxi operator, over taxi fare. During the argument, Dawes boxed Murray in his face and reportedly said "Remember say you diss me."

shots heard

It is further alleged that four days later on April 25, at about 11 p.m., Murray was approximately 10 kilometres away from his house when he saw Dawes approaching him with a firearm. Explosions were heard and Murray was later found suffering from gunshot wounds, following which he was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on April 30.

The court was told that checks by the police discounted an alibi which had previously been provided on Dawes' behalf, in which it was said that he was at work at the time of the shooting.

However, Dawes' attorney Henry McCurdy claimed that his information suggested that the timing of the attack on Murray was earlier than had been given by the prosecution.

"My instructions are that the timing of this incident was after 9 p.m., and nowhere after 11 p.m. When he (Dawes) got home from work, he was told there was a shooting we will be able to prove this incident took place after 9 p.m.," McCurdy told presiding magistrate Carolyn Tie.

The court was also informed that the post-mortem report, the scene of crime report, and an additional statement were to be placed on the prosecution's file.

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