By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterTHE TRIAL of policewoman Viris Christie, who is charged with the murder of 25-year-old Natasha Stephens, a cosmetologist who was involved in a love affair with Christie's Nigerian husband, began yesterday in the Home Circuit Court.
Stephen's body with seven gunshot entry wounds to the back was found under the Portmore Causeway, about 6.30 a.m. on September 21, 1999.
Christie was married to Osagie Odiase, also called "Confidence" a computer programmer and teacher, in 1996.
"You will hear she (Stephens) met her death in a most heinous and awful manner," Paula Llewellyn, Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions told the 12-member jury when she outlined the Crown's case.
Defence lawyer, Carolyn Reid, objected to the comments saying "we are not here for the drama society".
OUTLINED ALLEGATIONS
The comments led to Miss Justice Kay Beckford calling for a certain equilibrium to be maintained.
"When the heat is in the kitchen, someone will bawl out," Miss Llewellyn said in response to Miss Reid's comments as she continued to outline the allegations in the case.
Miss Llewellyn said the Crown would be relying on circumstantial evidence to prove its case and would be leading evidence from which the only conclusion that could be arrived at was that the accused was responsible for Stephen's death. She said also that the Crown was going to bring evidence to prove through the ballistics expert that the spent shells found near the body could only come from the gun of the accused.
Christie was assigned a firearm with nine rounds of ammunition. Miss Llewellyn said that Christie was shot at Paddington Terrace, St. Andrew about 7:45 p.m. on September 21, 1999. The firearm assigned to her was found with only two rounds in the magazine. The gun was sent to the forensic laboratory to be tested.
Woman Corporal Sandra Harris testified yesterday that she knew the accused for 12 years. She said in 1999 the accused called her and said she could not sleep at times because the phone kept ringing from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. She said a female called almost every night.
SPOKE TO HUSBAND
The accused said she spoke to her husband about it and he said it was a female student who was calling. Cpl. Harris said that the accused said she found the number for the female person and one day when she went to work she dialled the number and hung up.
She said the accused said her husband asked her if she called Natasha but she denied calling her. The accused said she called the number another time and her husband began quarrelling and saying he did not know his wife would stoop so low to call some female's number.
On another occasion, she said the accused told her that she knew where Natasha worked on Holborn Road, New Kingston and she was going there "to bust her...". The witness said she asked the accused if she remembered what her husband had said and the accused said she was not going to interfere with the deceased. Cpl. Harris said that after the accused was shot, she visited her at the hospital.
