I had no reason to kill

Attorney Joseph Melville said yesterday the attempted murder case against him was “total fiction,” and denied a suggestion by senior State prosecutor Trevor Ward  that he plotted to send  his secretary, Patricia Cox, to her death. “I have absolutely no reason to kill or instruct anybody to kill Miss Cox,”  said Melville who elected to go on the witness stand and testify. He denied that he conspired with Ainsley Alleyne, Jason Holder and Hilton Winchester, to murder Cox, on June 28, 2001, at Cumberland Hill, St James.

Only Melville and taxi driver Winchester are before the Port-of-Spain First Criminal Court on charges of conspiracy to murder Cox, attempted murder of Cox and kidnapping and assaulting her.  Alleyne, 26, of St James, turned State witness, but died after testifying at the Magistrate’s Court.  Holder cannot be located. Alleyne’s deposition was read to the jury. In it he detailed his  meetings with Melville and the plan to kill Cox. Cox, who had been absent from Court since she ended her testimony, returned yesterday. At the end of Melville’s testimony yesterday, he called a witness, Registrar General Susan Francois. The Court heard that Francois was in court earlier, but had left. The matter was adjourned to today to allow the defence an opportunity to bring its witness.

Melville is being defended by Nathaniel King and Ken Sagar, while Winchester’s lawyer is Thomas Cunningham. Ward is being assisted by prosecutor George Busby. Melville told the jury the first time he saw Alleyne was when Alleyne and Insp Griffith confronted him at the St James Police Station.  He said Griffith acknowledged  that “this was the Melville he had referred to in his statement.” Melville later sought to suggest that those words were put into the mouth of Alleyne by Griffith, but Ward observed that neither Melville nor his attorney had raised any objection, or asked that an ID parade be held. Melville said that he learnt from the media that there was a warrant for his arrest in connection with the matter, so he went with his  lawyer Hugh Jacob to the St James Police Station and surrendered. Melville admitted knowing Holder as a client but denied Ward’s suggestion that he had also known him personally.

Ward recalled that Holder was a prosecution witness in the case of the State versus Nicholas Mitchell, and Melville was Mitchell’s  attorney. He further recalled that Holder had to be deemed a hostile witness by the State. He said that Cox testified that she had seen Holder at the home of Melville around 1 am on June 24, a day before Holder had to testify as a prosecution witness, and she also saw him at Melville’s office on the morning before he testified. Melville emphatically denied that Jason was at his home or his office. He also described those allegations as “total fiction.” He again denied allegations that he had instructed Cox to go with Holder and  the other men,  and that he was sending her to her death. He said: “I would have to be a mad man to do that.”