There was nothing to indicate the presence of another person at the scene where the body of police officer Raphael Williams was found hanging from a tree on Sunday, Jan. 12, a coroner’s jury heard on Thursday.
This evidence came from Detective Constable Valentine Reid, who was answering questions posed by Attorney James Stenning on behalf of Mr. Williams’s widow. Mr. Stenning wanted to know if the circumstances of the scene would help determine whether Mr. Williams had hanged himself or was hanged by someone else.
The jury has been hearing evidence since Tuesday about incidents that occurred before Mr. Williams died, including the fact that he had been suspended from duty as a police officer after his arrest on suspicion of blackmail and breach of trust.
The initial allegation was by a female motorist who said Mr. Williams had stopped her in the early hours of Jan. 6 for driving without insurance and had solicited sexual favors from her. Officers subsequently obtained a statement from a second female which led to a second arrest. Mr. Williams was released from custody on Friday, Jan. 10, and his wife reported him missing the next day. His body was found in the bush off Colliers Wilderness Drive in East End on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 12.
Officer Adrian Menzies of the K-9 Unit told the court that he went to the end of the road with his Belgian Malinois and there he met other officers and saw the car identified as belonging to Mr. Williams. The dog showed interest in a nearby area, but the ground was jagged and Mr. Menzies did not want the dog to get injured, so he did not let the animal go farther.
He said officer Stephen Best told him he had seen a piece of rope hanging from a tree. He, Mr. Best and Mr. Reid then made their way into the bush.
Mr. Reid told the court the bush was thick and visibility was poor. It was a difficult path and he had to use a machete to chop his way in.
Mr. Stenning asked if he could discount the presence of anyone else.
Queen’s Coroner Eileen Nervik rephrased his concerns by asking Mr. Reid if he saw any evidence that there were multiple persons walking through the bush, any signs of a struggle, anything to indicate that more than one person had been there. “Did you see any disturbance or broken limbs or anything to show someone was forcibly taken there?” she asked.
Mr. Reid said Mr. Best, as scene of crime officer, had taken pictures of the entire area as they went along, before anything was chopped. That was the procedure until they got to about eight or 10 feet from the body. Mr. Best took more pictures before Mr. Reid continued chopping his way to the tree where the body was hanging.
“From the roadway to the body, there was nothing suspicious as if anyone else was there,” Mr. Reid stated.
Photographs of the scene were provided to jurors.
Before the Thursday morning court session ended, the coroner indicated that evidence would be heard Friday from the pathologist and Mr. Williams’s widow. The inquest is expected to continue into next week.
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