Shineka Gray trial: Accused killer’s ex-girlfriend saved his name as ‘Crasses 2’ in her phone
MONTEGO BAY, St James — A digital forensic officer from the police force on Tuesday read aloud phone messages between accused killer Gregory Roberts and his ex-girlfriend, who had saved Roberts’s number in her phone under the name Crasses 2. Crasses is one version of the Jamaican dialect for the word crosses, which indicates problems.
From the witness stand, Detective Inspector Kamar Smith testified that in addition to recovering information from Roberts’s white Samsung Galaxy phone, he also accessed Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s black and blue Samsung Galaxy with a Digicel SIM card. Smith, who is assigned to the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC), said he was able to complete a successful digital forensic extraction on the phone.
After outlining how he ascertained, through the user account name and profile photo, that the phone belonged to Roberts’s ex-girlfriend, Smith testified that there were messages on the device that correlated to messages sent from Roberts’s phone.
On Monday, the first day he took the stand, Smith had read aloud from texts allegedly retrieved from the accused killer’s phone that painted a picture of Roberts’s attempt to scare his ex-girlfriend and her mother into repaying money he said his ex-lover had fleeced him.
On Tuesday, Smith continued by reading aloud some of the texts that were allegedly sent and received from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend’s Samsung Galaxy phone on January 29 and 30, 2017:
Message from Roberts at 2:25 pm on January 29: You would never believe I would ever do something li… (sic)
Message from Roberts at 3:26 pm on January 29: Someone going tomorrow [name of ex-girlfriend].
Message from Roberts at 8:22 pm on January 29: I’m going to let you know me now, I’m going to video myself.
Message from Roberts at 10:15 am on January 29: You will hear what happened, but just make sure I ge…(sic)”
Message from Roberts at 6:53 am on January 30: Now you took my money under false pretence, now block.”
Message from Roberts at 7:53 am on January 30: Call me right now, not because your mother is bringing bk…”
Message from Roberts at 7:54 am on January 30: Your [expletive] life I tried save, are you deaf?… Call me… KMFT
Message from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend at 7:57 am on January 30: Yes.
Message from Roberts’s ex-girlfriend at 8:00 am on January 30: Don’t you see me calling you?
Message from Roberts at 8:01 am on January 30: Unblock the [expletive] number quick.
Message from ex-girlfriend at 10:02 am on January 30: Soon, wait.
Message from Roberts at 10:02 am on January 30: KMFT
Message from ex-girlfriend at 10:03 am on January 30: It unblock now.
Message from Roberts at 10:04 am on January 30: Just wait little bit… KMT.
Message from Roberts at 10:05 am on January 30: I’m trying to stop them.
Other details emerged, during the officer’s testimony, about a gold-coloured BLU phone he received and on which he performed a full forensic extraction. According to Inspector Smith, the evidence indicated that the phone was under the control of convicted co-defendant Mario Morrison.
“Were you able to form an opinion regarding the gold-coloured BLU phone?” prosecutor Morgan asked.
“Yes, that this cellphone was the property of Shineka Gray,” the officer said.
Morrison, in his examination in chief earlier in the trial, spoke of receiving Gray’s phone from Roberts the day after her death, placing his SIM card in it, and making two calls.
On Tuesday the Crown indicated that it wishes to clarify a few areas regarding the gold-coloured BLU phone. These will be addressed during the next sitting of the trial on Thursday.
The trial, which began on November 23, has so far heard from 14 of the 18 witnesses. Eleven witnesses gave sworn evidence, and two other statements were read into evidence.
Gray’s body was discovered in bushes in Irwin, St James, on February 1, 2017 with multiple stab wounds.
Roberts and Morrison were subsequently arrested and charged with the schoolgirl’s murder. Morrison pleaded guilty to her murder and was sentenced to life in prison.