7 News Belize

Mason Trial Update
posted (July 11, 2019)
All this week, we've been telling you about the resumption of the Belmopan murder trial for William "Danny" Mason and his 4 co-defendants who are accused of the beheading murder of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas.

This week, the court has been carefully testing a confession statement allegedly from one of the 5 accused, which could become a major piece of evidence in the favor of DPP Cheryl-Lynn Vidal prosecution's of this case. As we've told, it is being done in a trial within this trial, where multiple witnesses have testified to the court disclosing details of this written statement. After hearing from all the witnesses, Justice Antoinette Moore will decide whether or not it will be admitted into evidence. If she rules that it is in the interest of justice that the statement is admitted, then the actual trial resumes with the details of that written statement being discussed openly in court. If judge rules that the statement is invalid, then it is excluded, and the DPP and her team will have to rely on other pieces of evidence to convince the court that these defendants are guilty.

We are told that the trial within this trial includes 11 witnesses, several of whom testified today. The remaining witness testimony is expected to be taken tomorrow, after which, the judge will decide on whether the confession can be used by the prosecution or not.




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