Court hears how lawyer wanted secretary dead

Attorney Joseph Melville wanted his secretary Patricia Cox dead because she was talking his business with a policeman named Frank, and Fraud Squad was getting close to him. So he offered three hitmen  the job for $40,000 and instructed them that: “It must be a skillful operation and that Cox must not rise back up again.” This was in part senior State prosecutor Trevor Ward’s opening address to a jury in the Port-of-Spain First Assizes where Melville, and taxi driver Hilton Winchester, are on trial on charges of conspiracy to murder Cox, attempting to murder her, kidnapping her and assaulting her occasioning a wound. Also charged with them but not present in court is Jason Holder. Ward explained to the jury that another man, Ainsley Alleyne, who had taken part in the crime, had turned State witness and was granted immunity from prosecution. But Alleyne is since deceased and his deposition from the Magistrates’ court will be tendered into evidence.

Ward gave some of the sadistic details of how the plot to kill Cox unfolded. But it was Cox who started going into the details of her ordeal as she began her evidence in chief before Justice Melville Baird. The defence attorneys are Nathaniel King, Ken Saga and Thomas Cunningham, while prosecutor George Busby is assisting Ward. Cox told the Court that she was Melville’s secretary since 1997 until the day of the incident, June 28, 2001. She said her boss, Melville, had telephoned her and gave her instructions to meet and go with a man called Jason Holder, whom she knew before, and another man. She had to accompany them and collect some documents related to a murder trial Melville was allegedly doing. Cox met with Holder at the corner of Park and Pembroke Streets, Port-of-Spain, as instructed by her boss. When she arrived there and got into the car, which was being driven by Winchester, Holder signalled to a man who was standing some distance away to come.

While waiting on the man, Melville, whose law office is nearby, was walking on the other side of the road, and when he reached abreast of the car, he shouted to Holder: “Look at the time. Go handle your scene.” Cox said she did not suspect anything because she had done this for her boss on other occasions. The foursome drove to St James and without any instruction from the others, Winchester headed for Cumberland Hill. On the way, Alleyne, who was seated in the back seat with Cox, grabbed her by the neck and told her: “Don’t make no f...ing noise. He then told Jason to lock the door. The guy holding my neck then unbuttoned my shirt. The guy said yuh don’t know who I is? I is a f...ing murderer. “Jason also told me, I (he) only looking quiet, I am a murderer.” The car came to a stop near the transmitting station and Alleyne got out. Alleyne then pulled Cox out of the vehicle violently by her feet. Cox said she then rolled down the hill. Tomorrow, when hearing resumed, Cox will continue with her testimony.