Lawyers representing two men who have been in custody for four years without being tried have still been unsuccessful in securing bail.

However, Supreme Court Judge Martin Gayle, after hearing the length of time the men have been in custody, ordered that their case be placed on the priority list for trial.

The case was set last Friday for trial in the Home Circuit Court to start on February 22.

The accused are labourers, Anthony Smith and Rohan Nelson, who are charged with the murder of Icylyn Vaughn of '100 Lane', off Red Hills Road, St Andrew. She was shot dead at her house about 3 a.m. on August 31, 2001 when a group of men invaded her home.

Defence lawyers Valerie Neita-Robertson and Christopher Townsend, in applying for bail, argued that the case would be a so-called 'paper trial' as the sole eyewitness has since been shot dead. A paper trial is one in which there is no eyewitness.

Chain hole

Both attorneys have also opined that the grounds on which the case is built are very weak. A statement by the now-deceased witness, which indicated that he was peeping through a 'chain hole' on the night in question, was further evidence of the shaky basis of the case, the lawyers said.

Defence counsel said the accused were never in hiding, arguing it was only in 2005 that they were arrested and charged - after the eyewitness was killed.

Three men were convicted in November 2003 for the the murder of Vaughn and her common-law husband, Milton Gray.

The Crown led evidence at the trial in the Home Circuit Court that about 3 a.m. on August 31, 2001, the couple were at home when a group of men armed with guns invaded their premises. Some of the intruders entered the house and shot the couple.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com