Members of a Grand Court jury were brought to tears Thursday by video of a man being kicked in the head as he lay dying on the ground, having been ran over a few moments prior by his informal business partner.
The jarring CCTV footage served as the prosecution’s curtain raiser in the murder trial of Bryan Roy Welcome, who ran over Omar Ryan in the parking lot of a warehouse complex.
Welcome accepts that he was the driver who struck and killed Ryan on 8 July 2023, but claims it was an act of self-defence and not murder.
Welcome, the owner of People’s Choice Grocery, had a four-year, informal business partnership in which Welcome supplied produce on credit to Ryan, according to assistant Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Scott Wainwright.
Ryan would in return sell the items and clear his outstanding debt.
Spoiled produced soured business partnership
The jury heard that at some stage, a dispute arose between the men about $350 worth of produce. Discussions between the two resulted in the debt being reduced by $300, due to the produce spoiling before it could be sold. The outstanding $50 was never paid by Ryan to Welcome.
Wainwright told the court that on the evening of 8 July 2023, the men crossed paths at a Shedden Road plaza, which led to a brief verbal exchange over the unpaid debt that soon escalated.
“The defendant was there delivering cases of water to one of his clients … when he came back out, he discovered that the deceased had blocked his car with his vehicle,” Wainwright said.
He added that Ryan eventually removed his car but later followed Welcome to a warehouse complex off Robert Foster Drive in the industrial park area.
The CCTV footage shows when the men arrived to the area. Welcome pulled into the parking lot in his black Audi A3 and Ryan followed immediately behind him in a white Honda Stepwgn.
As both vehicles came to a stop in the middle of the parking lot, Ryan exited his vehicle, and began shouting and making indiscernible gestures towards Welcome’s vehicle.
A few seconds later, Welcome reverses his car and repositions directly inline with Ryan.
A loud revving of the Audi A3 is then followed by high-pitch screeching of tyres ending with a thud, as Welcome strikes Ryan, who was standing near the right front bumper of the Stepwgn.
After striking Ryan, Welcome continued to drive, dragging him under the vehicle to the back of the Stepwgn. He then ran over him and drove back towards the entrance of the complex and out of the camera’s line of site.
Ryan, who goes by the name ‘Blacks’, is seen struggling to get to his feet and staggers to the rear of his Stepwgn, where he collapses once again.
“Mi wi kill yuh [expletive],” Welcome could be heard shouting as he returned to the scene on foot.
“Blacks, mi tell yuh fi give me [expletive] money, and all now,” shouted Welcome as he approached Ryan.
“Yu ah fahla mi like ah me owe yuh money, yuh a eedeyat?” shouted Welcome as he kicked Ryan in the head.
As bystanders quickly rushed over, one asked Welcome what was happening, to which he replied, “Di man ah fahla mi round like mi owe him money. Mi tell him fi leggo mi money.”
Wainwright told the court that for the next 30 minutes, the bystanders unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate Ryan, who was transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short while later.
The jury were told that his official cause of death was multiple broken ribs, which punctured his lungs and liver, leading to severe internal bleeding.
“The kick didn’t contribute towards the death, but is indicative of the attitude of this defendant towards a dying man,” Wainwright said.
The jury heard that Welcome provided a prepared statement to police in which he said he became fearful for his life, tried to flee the scene and while speeding away, he noticed as Ryan fell but believed it was because he slipped.
The case continues Friday, 17 May. Welcome, who was arrested on the night of the incident, remains in custody pending the outcome of his trial.
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