Expert witness says couple fatally shot before house was set ablaze

An expert witness in the Clansman-One Don Gang trial yesterday testified that a St Catherine couple - Cedella Walder, 27 and Jermaine Bryan, 25 -- were shot and killed before the house in which they were staying was set on fire.

The two persons were allegedly shot and killed by reputed One Don Gang leader Andre 'Blackman' Bryan and his bodyguard Tareek James, otherwise called 'CJ', in St Catherine on September 8, 2017.

Walder received two shots in her buttocks and a fatal shot in her chest while Bryan, who she was visiting for the first time, similarly was shot three times -- twice in his chest and once in his abdomen.

Both also suffered damage to their lungs and hearts.

The New Nursery, Twickenham Park, board house they were in was firebombed in an early morning attack.

The details of the couple's cause of death were disclosed yesterday by a forensic expert, who also revealed that the victims had died before the fire started.

According to the pathologist, no soot was found in the victims' trachea "which more than likely implies that they were not alive at the start of the fire".

The witness, who conducted the couple's autopsy on October 6, 2017, told the court that both were excessively burnt and could not be identified visually. The court, however, heard that the female had more burn injuries than the male as no blood was found in her body.

"His body was in a better condition than hers. Both had burns but he had more skin and less defects," the witness stated.

The court also heard that Walder was shot from the back while her boyfriend was shot from the opposite direction.

Two former members of the One Don Gang, a splinter of the Clansman Gang, previously testified that Bryan had marshalled a large group of gangsters to the community in search of a man known as 'Bobo Spark'. He was said to be a top shooter for Tesha Miller, the reputed leader of the Clansman Gang.

The trial will resume on Thursday.