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By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
[email protected]
A POLICEMAN had an “off and on” relationship with a woman allegedly murdered by her teenage daughter and the daughter’s lover.
Zyndall McKinney, who stands accused alongside girlfriend Madison Pugh.
Police Constable Dominic Simms told the Supreme Court he met alleged killers Madison Pugh and Zyndall McKinney some time between February 2005 and November 2008, when he had known and been in contact with Anna Garrison.
Pugh, 19, who is Anna Garrison’s daughter, and McKinney, 25, Pugh’s former boyfriend, are accused of killing Garrison, who went missing in February 2009 only to be found in a graveyard out east in the Bahamas on July 4, US Independence Day, 2009.
McKinney is from Marathon. Pugh is from Pennsylvania, USA. Anna Garrison was living in the Bahamas at the time of her death.
Her decomposed body was found wrapped in multi-coloured sheets.
Officer Simms, witness for prosecutor Ambrose Armbrister, told the court yesterday he met Anna Garrison when he regularly went to a Bahamas sports bar for drinks and football where she was a bartender.
He described her, when asked by the prosecutor, as a caucasian female with long hair. The prosecutor asked him if he was able to recognise any other features about the victim.
Simms said Garrison had a “heart” tattooed on her right arm, his name on her neck, a teddy bear on her right leg and his full name on her lower back.
it was at this point that he acknowledged the two had dated.
“However,” he said, “once we stopped dating, she got a ‘tribal symbol’ over my name. She also had a tattoo on her left breast,” he added.
He told the prosecutor he would recognise Anna Garrison because he could identify the tribal symbol over the tattoo on the deceased’s body - he had gone with her to have the tattoo drawn.
Under cross-examination, Simms dismissed a suggestion from McKinney’s attorney, Murrio Ducille, that the victim was his girlfriend. He said: “We dated.”
Mr Ducille pushed further for a “direct” answer to the question but Mr Simms only said “we were seeing each other off and on”.
Mr Simms denied that they were living together and said “I guess so” when it was put to him that Garrison had multiple relationships while the two were “off and on”.
He agreed with Mr Ducille that he was asked by Garrison, at a point in their relationship, to become the legal guardian of Madison Pugh, who was 16 at the time.
He said that it was not because the mother could not take care of her daughter, in fact the “guardianship was for Madison to stay in the country”.
“And for the record, I did not go along with it,” he added.
He said he could not recall signing a document stating his parental custody over Madison, for the purpose of her getting permanent residence in the Bahamas.
Mr Armbrister objected to the relevance of the document being shown but it was overruled when Mr Ducille stated his intent to argue the witness’s credibility.
When the document was shown to the judge and then to Simms, he admitted that he had signed it, though he said that it was done at a certain point in their relationship.
Simms said he came to know Madison when he found out she was living with McKinney and his mother in the Bahamas.
He disagreed that it was because Anna Garrison could not take care of the girl.
He said that Anna Garrison often went to clubs but could not answer to her carrying Madison with her and exposing her to men.
The defence attorney suggested that this was the reason why the male accused and his mother, living in Marathon, took them in.
Elliot Lockhart, defending Pugh, questioned the “kind of relationship” between Simms and the victim, whether or not it was friendly or hostile.
The officer said: “We occasionally had arguments.”
“You never beat her up?” said the attorney.
“Physically, she assaulted me and I had to restrain her,” the officer said.
Mr Lockhart suggested that he beat the victim in front of Pugh who sometimes stepped into the fights.
He disagreed and told the attorney to look at the size difference between himself and the mother.
Mr Armbrister asked Simms about the occasion where he and the mother, along with two police officers, went to McKinney’s home in Marathon.
“Anna called me. I accompanied her to the residence, with the police,” said Mr Simms.
He said that Pugh did not want to leave adding “Anna wanted Madison”.
They got into an argument that carried over to the Wulff Road police station, the court heard. His testimony was concluded after he said that “Madison had left the station with Zyndall.”
The trial resumes today at 10am before Justice Roy Jones.
McKinney and Pugh each deny a charge of murder.
.
Tribune Staff Reporter
[email protected]
A POLICEMAN had an “off and on” relationship with a woman allegedly murdered by her teenage daughter and the daughter’s lover.
Zyndall McKinney, who stands accused alongside girlfriend Madison Pugh.
Police Constable Dominic Simms told the Supreme Court he met alleged killers Madison Pugh and Zyndall McKinney some time between February 2005 and November 2008, when he had known and been in contact with Anna Garrison.
Pugh, 19, who is Anna Garrison’s daughter, and McKinney, 25, Pugh’s former boyfriend, are accused of killing Garrison, who went missing in February 2009 only to be found in a graveyard out east in the Bahamas on July 4, US Independence Day, 2009.
McKinney is from Marathon. Pugh is from Pennsylvania, USA. Anna Garrison was living in the Bahamas at the time of her death.
Her decomposed body was found wrapped in multi-coloured sheets.
Officer Simms, witness for prosecutor Ambrose Armbrister, told the court yesterday he met Anna Garrison when he regularly went to a Bahamas sports bar for drinks and football where she was a bartender.
He described her, when asked by the prosecutor, as a caucasian female with long hair. The prosecutor asked him if he was able to recognise any other features about the victim.
Simms said Garrison had a “heart” tattooed on her right arm, his name on her neck, a teddy bear on her right leg and his full name on her lower back.
it was at this point that he acknowledged the two had dated.
“However,” he said, “once we stopped dating, she got a ‘tribal symbol’ over my name. She also had a tattoo on her left breast,” he added.
He told the prosecutor he would recognise Anna Garrison because he could identify the tribal symbol over the tattoo on the deceased’s body - he had gone with her to have the tattoo drawn.
Under cross-examination, Simms dismissed a suggestion from McKinney’s attorney, Murrio Ducille, that the victim was his girlfriend. He said: “We dated.”
Mr Ducille pushed further for a “direct” answer to the question but Mr Simms only said “we were seeing each other off and on”.
Mr Simms denied that they were living together and said “I guess so” when it was put to him that Garrison had multiple relationships while the two were “off and on”.
He agreed with Mr Ducille that he was asked by Garrison, at a point in their relationship, to become the legal guardian of Madison Pugh, who was 16 at the time.
He said that it was not because the mother could not take care of her daughter, in fact the “guardianship was for Madison to stay in the country”.
“And for the record, I did not go along with it,” he added.
He said he could not recall signing a document stating his parental custody over Madison, for the purpose of her getting permanent residence in the Bahamas.
Mr Armbrister objected to the relevance of the document being shown but it was overruled when Mr Ducille stated his intent to argue the witness’s credibility.
When the document was shown to the judge and then to Simms, he admitted that he had signed it, though he said that it was done at a certain point in their relationship.
Simms said he came to know Madison when he found out she was living with McKinney and his mother in the Bahamas.
He disagreed that it was because Anna Garrison could not take care of the girl.
He said that Anna Garrison often went to clubs but could not answer to her carrying Madison with her and exposing her to men.
The defence attorney suggested that this was the reason why the male accused and his mother, living in Marathon, took them in.
Elliot Lockhart, defending Pugh, questioned the “kind of relationship” between Simms and the victim, whether or not it was friendly or hostile.
The officer said: “We occasionally had arguments.”
“You never beat her up?” said the attorney.
“Physically, she assaulted me and I had to restrain her,” the officer said.
Mr Lockhart suggested that he beat the victim in front of Pugh who sometimes stepped into the fights.
He disagreed and told the attorney to look at the size difference between himself and the mother.
Mr Armbrister asked Simms about the occasion where he and the mother, along with two police officers, went to McKinney’s home in Marathon.
“Anna called me. I accompanied her to the residence, with the police,” said Mr Simms.
He said that Pugh did not want to leave adding “Anna wanted Madison”.
They got into an argument that carried over to the Wulff Road police station, the court heard. His testimony was concluded after he said that “Madison had left the station with Zyndall.”
The trial resumes today at 10am before Justice Roy Jones.
McKinney and Pugh each deny a charge of murder.
.
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