Man Awaiting Third Murder Trial Acquitted After No-Case Ruling

A 19-year-old man, already acquitted of a previous murder and now awaiting trial for a third killing, has walked free of yet another murder charge following a ruling in the High Court today.  Dorian Anthony was acquitted of the murder of Trenton Webster after Justice Nigel Pilgrim upheld a no-case submission made by the defense at the close of the Crown’s case.  The ruling came after the trial’s sole prosecution witness was declared hostile, and the Crown sought to rely on the witness’s previous inconsistent statement as its primary incriminating evidence. However, Justice Pilgrim ruled that the statement was inadmissible, agreeing that its probative value was outweighed by the potential prejudice to the accused.  The Crown subsequently conceded that, with the exclusion of that statement, it had no admissible evidence linking Anthony to the shooting. Prosecutors then closed their case.  In delivering his decision, Justice Pilgrim stated that the court could not accept the prior inconsistent statement, noting that to do so would unfairly prejudice the accused. As a result, the no-case submission was upheld, and Anthony was formally acquitted of murder.  The decision came on the fourth day of trial.  Anthony has now been acquitted of two separate murder charges and is currently awaiting trial for a third murder in the Belmopan area.