Fingerprint debate heats up

ALTHOUGH crime scene analyst Insp Stephen Ramroop yesterday admitted that there was no scientific way to determine the age of a fingerprint, he maintained that there were other ways in which it could be done. The retired officer was being cross-examined by defence attorney Wayne Sturge during the Cascade triple murder trial. The trial is being presided over by Justice Herbert Volney at the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court. In his evidence given at the inquiry at the Magistrates’ Court, Ramroop had referred to two fingerprinting authorities which he said “suggested” that the age of a fingerprint could be scientifically determined. Under cross-examination, however, the officer refused to accept Sturge’s claim that he had lied on oath. “The information came out prematurely. I probably used the wrong wording. I later said the information assisted in determining the age of the fingerprint,” Ramroop said. 

Sturge, however, was determined to bring the credibility of the witness into question. “I want to show that he is a liar,” the defence attorney said. “He lied on oath to the magistrate. He has sought to deceive,” he continued. But this determined effort was curtailed by Volney. “Mr Sturge, I have given you plenty tether and you have used it,” the judge warned. According to Volney, the jury would determine whether or not there were any inconsistencies in Ramroop’s evidence. The jury, he said, must be given the opportunity to hear the alleged inconsistencies in the context they had been given at the Magistrates’ Court. Despite this, the tenacious attorney continued to interrogate the witness on the fingerprinting issue, which Volney warned, did not concern his client. Sturge is representing 25-year-old Lester Pitman, who, along with 21-year-old Daniel Agard, is charged with the murders of Lynette Lichglow-Pearson, 51, agricultural consultant John Cropper, 59, and Canadian resident Maggie Lee, 83.

The bodies of the victims were found with their throats slit at their home at Second Avenue in Cascade on December 13, 2001. They had reportedly been murdered sometime between December 11 and 13. In his evidence-in-chief on Thursday, Ramroop had identified a fingerprint impression on a jewelry box found at the crime scene as that of the right thumb print of Merritt’s client. Merritt, however, had no objections to Sturge’s line of questioning, even after Volney reminded him of his responsibility to ensure that his client got a fair trial and pointed out that Sturge’s questions could invoke an answer from the witness that could negatively affect Agard’s defence. When hearing resumes on Monday, Sturge will continue with his cross-examination of Ramroop.