The case was yesterday before Justice E. Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court and the defence counsel O. Susso said the police witness, Landing Danso, and his team were in a desperate attempt to incriminate the accused, Augustine Bangura, by linking him to committing the alleged crime and forcing him to confess, even with a clear indicator that Mr Bruce (the ex-boyfriend) had the motive to commit the offence.
However, the witness disagreed with defence counsel Susso, saying there was “no evidence at all found” or linking Mr Bruce (the ex-boyfriend) to the murder other than the accused person.
Among the witnesses interviewed, witness Landing Danso said one Nikkie Palmer told them about one Mr Bruce who was the ex-boyfriend of the deceased.
Asked if he, the witness, was told about the bizarre behaviour of Mr Bruce at the time of the alleged incident, the witness said he could not remember and did not obtain a statement of Nikkie Palmer.
The witness said when they received information about Mr Bruce during their investigation, he was called for questioning and a statement was obtained from him, adding that he the witness could not remember any sort of relationship between the deceased and Mr Bruce.
Asked why he called Bruce for questioning when his name was merely mentioned by Nikkie Palmer, the witness said murder is high crime and anybody who is mentioned or information is received about would be invited for questioning.
The witness further explained the techniques used in investigating crimes, stating that the first thing they did to investigate the matter was to print out the deceased’s telephone number and utilized it for the investigation of her alleged murder.
He also said they interviewed all potential witnesses and that indicators of suspicion aides investigating a crime.
The case was adjourned until 14 October 2024.
