On Tuesday, we took you back to Belmopan for the continuation of the murder trial of William "Danny" Mason, and his co-accused, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo.Â
After months of long hours, Justice Antoinette Moore has listened to the evidence from the prosecution, led by DPP Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, alleging that these 5 men all played a role in the 2016 beheading murder of Pastor Llewelyn Lucas. The only thing left is for Mason to close his case, which then triggers closing arguments from the DPP and all the defense attorneys.Â
But, the problem right now remains that Mason hasn't closed his case. He wants to call a US Embassy employee to testify on his behalf. But, because this witness is not in Belize, the court has to jump through a lot of diplomatic hoops to get the US authorities to make this witness available.
It has now caused a 3-week delay, and when the trial resumed this afternoon, Justice Moore told the accused and their attorneys that Belize and the US have already exchanged diplomatic notes on the issue. But, they can't give the court an exact time that the witness may be made available. The best guess is that it could take another 7 to 10 days, though that is not certain.
So, when the judge asked Mason's attorney how they would like to proceed, she told the court that she and Dexter Todd, Mason's lead attorney, have agreed that if the witness was not available by tomorrow, they are prepared to close their case. The judge attempted to confirm with Mason that this was what he wanted, and he then asked for a few minutes to confer with his attorney.
When the case resumed, Mason told Justice Moore that, after speaking with his attorney, he was prepared to agree to close his case without the court hearing from this witness. After consideration, Justice Moore explained to him and the attorneys that she is hesitant to abruptly move on to the closing arguments. She wants to ensure that Mason was given a fair opportunity to defend himself. So, given the work that has been done both the Belize and US Governments to get access to his witness, and the fact that the court has already waited 3 weeks to make it possible, she has decided to adjourn the case until next week Thursday.
This evening, after the hearing, we got an opportunity to speak with defense attorney Bryan Neal about the court's decision:
