The prosecution on Tuesday argued that an attempt to give the impression that robbery was the motive for the murders of Simone Campbell-Collymore and taxi operator Winston Walters backfired as it led the police to the shooters and the four men, including Campbell-Collymore’s husband, Omar, now on trial for the crime.
“They shaped it like a robbery. It is a good thing, because we wouldn’t know where the perpetrators went. Thank God there is no such thing as a perfect crime. Simone’s cellphone was traced back to the community of Brooke Valley. At 4:02 pm, her father was trying to call her. That Lockhart Avenue cell tower was the last place Simone’s phone pinged,” Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Andrea Martin-Swaby told the seven-member jury as she wrapped up her closing arguments.
Martin-Swaby pointed to testimony given by Wade Blackwood, one of the shooters, that after the murders were committed his accomplice, a man known only as Jim and who is now dead, had turned back and taken a bag from the taxi that was being carried driven by Walters. The bag contained Campbell-Collymore’s cellphone and that helped cops to track the accused.
According to Blackwood, he was informed that the mission was to make the killings appear to be a robbery.
Blackwood had earlier pleaded guilty to the crime, and in 2021 was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 35 years. He received an eight-year sentence for the firearm. However, he struck a plea deal with the Crown earlier this year and his sentence was reduced to 20 years on each count in exchange for his testimony against Collymore, Michael Adams, Shaquilla Edwards, and Dwayne Pink.
The four men are each charged with two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to murder.
Campbell-Collymore and Walters were gunned down by two men on Stanley Terrace in Red Hills, St Andrew, on January 2, 2018.
“Blackwood told you what he saw and what he heard,” the prosecutor said on Tuesday, adding that Campbell-Collymore did not try to set up anything against her husband.
“It was all in the other direction,” the prosecutor said, as she reminded the jury that Blackwood had told the trial that Collymore told him what to say when he decided to plead guilty. Collymore allegedly told Blackwood to explain that Campbell-Collymore wanted to kill him but he was backfired.
Blackwood claimed that Collymore promised him a truck to put into his father’s business. However, when Collymore took the witness stand last week he said that he never spoke to Blackwood about anything, despite sharing a cell with him for almost six months.
“Let us go back to the bull pen at the Half-Way-Tree Court,” Martin-Swaby said on Tuesday. “Wade Blackwood said that on the first appearance, all the accused were present. This was where he said he met Mr Collymore. He said that Michael Adams showed him Collymore and said, ‘This is the man who gave me the contract to kill his wife.’ When Adams pointed at him, he remained silent and did not deny it. Mr Blackwood asked Collymore why he wanted to kill his wife and Collymore gave him a look.
“Blackwood was moved to cell one at Horizon Remand Center and was in that cell for about five months. Do you believe that Mr Collymore said not a word to a man he shared a cell with? Collymore even promised him a truck to put in his father’s business. Was he in the business of handing out treats?” Martin-Swaby said, urging the jury to look deep into the evidence.
After the prosecution closed, attorney-at-law Dianne Jobson, who is representing Collymore, began her closing arguments. She will continue today when the trial resumes.
