The three men charged with the murder of senior Customs official Nigel Christian each declared their innocence from the dock on Tuesday as their defence cases concluded, with closing arguments scheduled for Wednesday.
According to Antigua.news, Saleim Harrigan of Greenbay, Wayne Thomas of Hatton, and Lasean Bully of Cashew Hill face charges of abducting Christian at gunpoint from his McKinnons home in July 2020 and shooting him dead. All three delivered unsworn statements before Justice Rajiv Persaud, a legal right that shielded them from cross-examination by the prosecution.
Harrigan went beyond a simple denial, levelling accusations at police and the Crown's star witness. He alleged that DNA evidence tying him to the crime had been planted. "Any clothing that has my DNA that police say they find was planted by them and [the driver]," he told the court.
Thomas appealed to the personal toll the trial has taken on him and his family. "This has been the hardest thing I have had to go through in my life — being accused of something I did not do," he said, adding that he is a father whose children depend on him.
Bully offered the most direct statement of the three. "I know nothing about the murder of Nigel Christian. I am innocent," he told the court.
With the defence cases now closed, the trial moves to closing arguments on Wednesday before Justice Persaud eventually delivers a verdict.
