Jury to Decide Delano Forbes’ Fate as Murder Trial Concludes Today

The fate of a man accused of killing a former Post Office worker will soon rest in the hands of a jury, as Justice Ann-Marie Smith prepares to deliver her final instructions today before deliberations begin.

Thirty-one-year-old Delano Forbes, who chose to remain silent rather than testify in his own defense, faces murder charges in the March 7th, 2018 death of All Saints resident Maurison Thomas.

After both prosecution and defense delivered their closing arguments yesterday, the stage is now set for Justice Smith to outline the legal framework jurors must apply when weighing the evidence against Forbes in the seven-year-old case.

The trial has centered on circumstantial evidence, with no eyewitnesses or video footage capturing the actual killing. Director of Public Prosecutions Clement Joseph made this clear to the jury yesterday as he recapped the Crown’s case, urging them to piece together the full picture from multiple strands of evidence.

Forbes exercised his right to silence after initially appearing confused about his legal options. When Justice Smith explained he could remain silent, make an unsworn statement, or take the witness stand. He chose to remain silent.

Defense attorney Sherfield Bowen rested his case without calling a single witness.

The prosecution’s case rests heavily on several key pieces of evidence. Thomas’ daughter provided emotional testimony about discovering her father’s body after seeing someone in an army-colored hoodie running from the house. A pathologist detailed the brutal nature of the killing, noting Thomas suffered a fractured skull and that considerable force was used.

Perhaps most damaging to Forbes’ case is retrieved video footage showing him wearing the distinctive hoodie while holding up a wallet and black bag—items that belonged to Thomas and were found in Forbes’ possession at a pump house after his alleged prison escape. Forbes had recorded and deleted the footage, but police managed to recover it from a phone.

Joseph dismissed defense suggestions of an elaborate frame-up, challenging the jury to identify any plausible motive for such a conspiracy.

However, Bowen painted a picture of a flawed investigation riddled with critical errors. He hammered the police for failing to sketch the crime scene or lift fingerprints from obvious surfaces like the refrigerator and door posts, despite what he colorfully described as a scene pregnant with opportunities for forensic evidence collection.

The defense attorney also highlighted the mysterious absence of DNA test results from a pipe believed to be the murder weapon. Bowen suggested authorities either got results that cleared his client or simply abandoned the testing—either way, he argued, the missing evidence creates reasonable doubt.

Bowen pointed to what he called a “fatal error” in the prosecution’s case: conflicting accounts about where Thomas’ Social Security cards were found. A senior officer testified the cards were in the victim’s wallet, but crime scene photographs show them next to the body. Joseph addressed this discrepancy by noting that while the cards were identified, no one explicitly stated they were inside the wallet.

The defense also criticized police for ignoring Forbes’ explanation that a man from Liberta had given him the items found in his possession—a lead Bowen says was never investigated.

In his final plea to jurors, Bowen reminded them of their solemn duty as judges of fact, stressing that the Crown bears the burden of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He cautioned them against letting any personal feelings about Forbes influence their verdict, emphasizing that even if they find the accused “despicable,” they must base their decision solely on whether the evidence meets the legal standard.

As Justice Smith prepares to send the case to the jury room, Forbes awaits a verdict that will determine whether he spends the rest of his life behind bars or walks free from a crime he has steadfastly refused to address in his own words.