Car wash worker stands by suspicion of blood in sofa

A car wash worker, who previously claimed to have seen a suspicious red substance seeping from a sofa brought in by Constable Noel Maitland, testified in the Home Circuit Court on Monday that she was never informed by police whether tests confirmed it was blood.

“Mi don’t know nothing bout dat,” the woman said when defence attorney Christopher Townsend asked if police had told her the substance was not blood.

The witness had earlier described the substance as “blood like rice grain” oozing from the right corner of the sofa while she power-washed it. Frightened by what she saw, she recalled exclaiming, “Jesus! Dis yah man must dead or him bleed out. Look like dem kill somebody inna it.” She said no one at the car wash responded to her outburst.

The witness said she based her belief that it was blood on its red colour and the “raw scent” it emitted – a smell she claimed she had never encountered before or since, as the trial resumed yesterday in the Home Circuit Court. However, under cross-examination, she admitted she did not know how to test for blood and could not confirm what the substance actually was.

Townsend also asked about the conditions at the car wash on July 20, 2022 – the day police reportedly visited the premises following the disappearance of Maitland’s girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson. The witness said she was present when officers came and pointed out where the liquid had run from the sofa but claimed she did not know what the police were doing or who they were.

She firmly rejected Townsend’s suggestion that what she saw was not blood.

“Mi can’t agree with you,” she responded.

DEFENCE ARGUMENT

The defence then explored whether the red substance could have been something else, such as food waste or sewage. Townsend noted that sewage often backed up at the property. While the witness said it didn’t usually run across the yard, she admitted that it shared an outlet with car wash water and flowed through a nearby manhole when backed up.

She also confirmed that one of the garbage bins used by a nearby restaurant and bar was located close to the wash area. Asked whether the restaurant served fish, the woman replied, “Him cook all kind a menu,” confirming fish was among the dishes. The restaurant, she said, was owned by a policeman, but she never told him about the suspected blood, as he was rarely present and was not there that day.

During re-examination, Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson asked if there had been any sewage backup on the day the sofa was washed. The witness said no, adding that she had never before seen or smelled anything like what came from the sofa.

At one point, Thompson asked what was on the restaurant’s menu that day, prompting an objection from the defence. Justice Leighton Pusey overruled, saying, “You started it,” in reference to earlier defence questions about food waste and fish. Thompson, however, withdrew the question before a ruling was made, but the witness said she did not know what was on the menu that day or the next.

She was also shown two photographs she had previously signed off on as being accurate, which depicted vehicles at the car wash. Upon closer examination, she admitted the images were dated March 2, 2000 – over two decades before the events in question.

Maitland is currently on trial for the murder and alleged unlawful disposal of his girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson, who was reported missing on July 13, 2022. Her mother testified that Maitland picked up Donaldson from her home on July 11 and she last heard from her daughter the following morning.

Two deliverymen have testified that Maitland had the sofa moved twice – first from his Chelsea Manor apartment to the car wash, then from the car wash to an upholstery shop in downtown Kingston.

Another car wash employee is expected to testify today.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com