Noel Maitland has been found guilty of the murder of Donna-Lee Donaldson by the jury. The verdict was presented in court after the seven jurors returned from a short deliberation on Thursday afternoon.
After months of testimony and evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defence, Trial Judge Leighton Pusey formally paused the proceedings to allow seven jurors to assess the case privately.
PuMaitland was found guilty of two serious charges, murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse, linked to the disappearance of his former girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson. Donaldson disappeared at the age of 24 on July 12, 2022. Shortly before she went missing, she was known to be at Maitland’s residence at Chelsea Manor Apartments in St Andrew. Donaldson was widely known as a social media influencer and an entrepreneur. She was also employed at a call centre.
Before excusing the jury, Judge Pusey stressed that the verdict must be rooted entirely in the evidence presented throughout the 8-month trial. He reminded them that to find Maitland guilty, they must conclude that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
He highlighted legal principles the jurors must apply during deliberation to come to a decision, particularly in relation to the charge of preventing the lawful burial of a corpse. To find him guilty on that count, the jurors had to be satisfied that Donaldson is deceased, that there was a body, and that Maitland took actions to interfere with her lawful burial. If the jurors were not convinced of these points to the required legal standard, they were instructed to return a not guilty verdict on that charge.
Judge Pusey also clarified that the two charges should be considered independently. He told jurors that it is possible to acquit Maitland of murder while still finding him guilty of preventing the lawful burial of a corpse if the evidence supports such a conclusion. Conversely, if the evidence does not meet the required threshold on either charge, jurors are reminded that an acquittal must follow.
After delivering his final instructions, the judge directed the jurors to surrender their mobile phones, which were secured in an envelope, and then retire to the jury room to begin considering their verdict.