22 year-old Nicholi Rhys, who has been on remand awaiting trial since June of 2010 when Andre Trapp was murdered, was finally able to give his version of events to the court.
On Monday, his attorney, Simeon Sampson, made a no-case submission on his behalf asserting that the Director of Public Prosecutions was unable to provide any evidence which linked his client to Trapp's shooting death.
Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin, who is conducting the trial without any jury, denied that request and ruled that Rhys did have a case to answer.
So Rhys took the stand today in his own defence. He told the court that on the day of the murder, he was walking along Southern Foreshore alone.
He said that when he arrived at the Prince Street intersection, he heard gunshots, so he took cover in a yard on Prince Street.
20 minutes later, police found him in the yard, and detained him. According to Rhys, they kept him there for another 15 minutes, interrogating him.
Under cross-examination from DPP Vidal, he refused to admit that he knew anything about Trapp's shooting. He also denied that he was fleeing the scene of the shooting.
So, at this point, both the prosecution and the defence have closed their cases, and tomorrow, Chief Justice Benjamin will address technical matters to both sides. After that, a verdict will be handed down at the earliest convenience.
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