UTech student’s murder trial delayed for eighth time
Published:Tuesday | July 28, 2020 | 12:28 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The much-anticipated plea and case management hearing for Rahjief Morgan, the man accused of last January’s stabbing death of University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) student Demar Stennett, has been rescheduled to October 8, following his eighth overall appearance in the St James Circuit Court yesterday.
Morgan had his bail extended by High Court Justice Glen Brown after the court was told that the case file was not ready.
Monday’s postponement marks the first time that Morgan’s plea and case management hearing has been delayed since the date was set during his previous court appearance on July 14. It also marks the eighth overall delay in the case’s resolution since it was first brought before the St James Circuit Court on September 30, 2019.
The case was first put off to October 23, 2019, and then to November 27 that year, as DNA analysis results were outstanding from the prosecution’s file. The case was later rescheduled to January 23, 2020 to allow for an analysis of Morgan’s DNA.
The matter was deferred to March 18, as Morgan’s lawyer, Henry McCurdy, requested a copy of his client’s medical certificate. However, on that date, the investigating officer’s absence resulted in the court rescheduling the matter to May 13. The case was then put off until July 14, when the plea and case management hearing was set for Monday’s date.
Morgan is accused of stabbing Stennett 54 times along Merriam Way, near Westgate Hills in Montego Bay, on January 5, 2019, the first murder in the parish that year.
Reports are that at approximately 7 a.m. on the day, soldiers assigned to the zone of special operations in Mt Salem were on patrol along Merriam Way when they saw Morgan standing beside a parked car. When questioned, Morgan reportedly said that the vehicle had broken down.
However, Morgan’s behaviour and several wounds to his face aroused the soldiers’ suspicion, and when they confronted him, he fled into nearby bushes. The soldiers chased and caught Morgan, who fought with them before being subdued.
Morgan was taken back to the car, where the soldiers found a bloody knife. He subsequently led them to nearby bushes, where Stennett’s body was found.