Coudray tells court she identified daughter's remains

Christopher Thomas, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The much-anticipated trial of Ivan Taylor, the man charged with the 2012 murder of Trinidadian school-teacher Michelle Coudray-Greaves, began in the St James Circuit Court yesterday with four witnesses before High Court Justice Courtney Daye.

The first witness to give testimony was the deceased woman's mother, Trinidad and Tobago government minister Marlene Coudray, who has custody of her daughter's three children. She was also the person who provided DNA to identify her body.

In her testimony, Coudray, who arrived in Jamaica earlier this week for the trial, stated that on learning that a body believed to be that of her daughter was found, she came to the island to assist investigators by furnishing dental records and a DNA sample.

"I got a call from the police in Jamaica, and from that conversation I made contact with Michelle's orthodontist and collected records from him in respect of her dental work, and then I brought them to Jamaica on June 14, 2012," Coudray told the court.

"I went to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay ... and I requested to see the remains of the body," Coudray further testified. "I saw the charred remains on a cot, and I saw the fingers on which there was a ring, and I told the doctor that that was her (Michelle's) ring.

"There were braces on the teeth, both top and bottom, and I told the doctor that, from what I had seen, it appeared to be the remains of my daughter."

Cops testify

Assistant Commissioner of Police Devon Watkis, who was commanding officer of the Area One Police Division at the time of the incident, testified to the court that he met and spoke with Coudray on June 14, 2012, and received documents from her.

Detective Sergeant Devon Fuller, who was the sub-officer in charge of the Whithorn Police Station, in Westmoreland, testified that on June 13, 2012, he was given instructions that led him to the defendant's home, where he took custody of a white Toyota Corolla motorcar which is owned by Taylor.

A cane farmer, who was among the persons who found the body, also gave testimony yesterday. He told the court that Coudray-Greaves' burnt remains, which were found in a cane-field in which he was working on June 11, 2012, had been separated into pieces.

The case, which has attracted significant attention in Trinidad, will continue today with an unspecified number of persons down to give evidence.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com