Lawyer of murder accused disgusted with Mary Murphy

The lead defence counsel for murder accused Veron Primus has expressed concern and disgust over a series of interviews which were conducted in relation to her client.

Michaela Ambrose, who initially claimed that her client’s rights were breached when detectives from the United States interviewed him without her being present,{{more}} is up in arms again, this time over the manner in which United States journalist Mary Murphy carried out her interviews when she visited St Vincent and the Grenadines last month.

In a statement issued by Ambrose last Thursday, the lawyer said that like many persons, she has viewed the videos posted by CrimeWatch daily and Mary Murphy Mystery pages on Facebook and “I am most disappointed”.

Ambrose has also taken issue with interviews done by Murphy with Superintendent Ruth Jacobs, who is the head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Primus’ aunt, Lily Grant.

She said that on the day Murphy went to Vermont to the home of Primus, she received a panicked telephone call from a concerned family member.

“As per my instructions, an overseas media person in the company of a local media representative made their way to Vermont, to the home of Veron Primus’ sick aunt. This is a vulnerable old woman whose ignorance of the reason for the visit led to her giving a brief interview.

“The unsettling part about this interview, however, is that this woman was clearly recorded and was obviously confused as to who these people were and their true intentions at her home. Further to this, her home was filmed for all the world to see, drawing unnecessary attention to an old, partially empty refrigerator in her kitchen. Now, what exactly was the purpose of recording a refrigerator?”

Ambrose said that in her opinion, what is even more unsettling is that a vast majority of persons, at home and abroad, see nothing wrong with what Murphy did.

“For them, the bigger picture is that this is the home of Veron Primus. For others, the bigger picture is that advantage was taken of a vulnerable old lady in the privacy of her home. I believe the media in this instance is trying to portray that this is the place where criminals are born and breed. A back-alley, dilapidated, third-world home where the worst of the worst are unleashed upon society – murderers, thieves, rapists, and drug barons,” stated Ambrose.

She added, “I do not believe there are many who, even in good faith, would allow their family member and/or their home to be filmed in such conditions. Respectfully, this interview ought to have been conducted outside. There could be no valuable reason for these recordings to have been done.”

Ambrose said that information, whether true, false or misleading, has been disseminated to the public and this information has been put out there by both media and police and this is unacceptable.

“The circumstances surrounding the charges laid against Veron Primus are no excuse for these unethical and unprofessional statements to have left the offices or homes of those who wish to comment. As such, I have spoken briefly with my learned friend, prosecutor Adolphus Delpesche of the DPP’s office and I have had a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Mr Michael Charles MBE regarding these matters. These are all matters which none of us can decide in the court of public opinion. These are matters for the consideration of the Court, no matter how passionately members of the public or the aggrieved parties may feel,” said Ambrose.

The young lawyer added, “Additionally and conclusively, some Caribbean people need to stop this overly hospitable attitude we have towards persons from overseas. To elaborate on this, we must let go of the mentality we have, where we are always willing to go too far and too much beyond to please persons from abroad.

“Our hospitality and warm nature make us the hub of the tourism market, but there is a difference between being hospitable and being taken for simpletons and being taken advantage of, all in the hopes that we are liked.”

Ambrose said that in her opinion, “Murphy uttered merely two or three sentences of positivity about our small island,” and violated the law from the moment she disembarked at the ET Joshua airport by recording on the tarmac.”

Ambrose said that recording on the tarmac is against the laws in the United States of America and a person who records on the tarmac of the JFK International Airport can be arrested.

“We need to learn to stand up for ourselves and the image of our country. We have a wonderful heritage, wonderful culture and beautiful people. There are bad things happening all around the world, even in our neighboring islands, but these are barely the things you hear about in the press. You hear about their people, their carnival and culture, their ambiance, their heritage. This is the image St Vincent needs in order for our tourism to flourish,” said Ambrose.

Primus was originally detained in relation to the kidnapping and detention of Mewanah Hadaway, but was later charged for the November 13, 2015 murder of real estate agent Sharleen Greaves.

Greaves was found stabbed to death at her Bijou Real Estate office at Arnos Vale. Her Suzuki Escudo vehicle was found abandoned in the Wilson Hill area and reports are that a search at Primus’ home on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 turned up Greaves’ vehicle key.

Primus, who was deported from the United States in 2015, after serving time in jail for criminal contempt, has also been charged with kidnapping, assault, rape and buggery.

He is also a person of interest in the 2006 murder of Brooklyn teenager Chanel Peto-Nixon. (LC)