The prosecution in the ongoing trial of 25 alleged members of the so-called Tesha Miller faction of the Klansman gang on Monday continued battling to have the statement of a dead woman, regarding the February 2020 murder of a man called Noah Smith at Yarico Place in St Andrew, tendered into evidence.

The Crown had indicated its intention to present submissions on the matter in the course of making a Section 31 (D) application under the Evidence Act. The application in effect allows the introduction of statements as evidence in court when the witness cannot testify live — usually due to death, illness, being abroad, or being unable to be found after reasonable efforts. The offences to which the statement is connected are contained in counts 15 and 16 of the indictment.

The witness, Shanice Roberts, died in February 2021 but had provided a statement to cops ahead of her demise regarding the Friday, February 7, 2020, murder of Smith.