Ominous obsession
Phone analyst shows text messages from Shineka Gray murder accused to ex-girlfriend
Published:Thursday | January 4, 2024 | 12:11 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The St James Circuit Court saw and listened to text messages on Wednesday that suggested that Gregory Roberts, the man currently on trial for the 2017 murder of 15-year-old schoolgirl Shineka Gray, was disturbingly obsessed with getting back at his ex-girlfriend over money she allegedly owed him.
Roberts, who was charged with Gray’s murder after her body was found with multiple stab wounds in Irwin, St James, on February 1, 2017, looked on calmly as the court heard testimony from a communications forensic analyst from the Jamaica Constabulary Force regarding telephone communications from the defendant in the days leading up to the schoolgirl’s death.
“On January 29, 2017, at 12:11 a.m., Gregory’s [Roberts] mobile number sent a message to [ex-girlfriend’s] number, and the message reads, ‘So you take all of my money, then you lied to me, then you blocked my number after finish talking with the man you love?’” the witness outlined while showing the court a series of telephone calls and frequently misspelled text messages generated on a projected screen.
“At 3:58 a.m., he says: ‘I gave u everything just to [h]ave u back, but u takes my kindness for weakness. U just couldn’t see how much I love u because of the man u love overseas who u think love u,’” the witness continued, showcasing the text message on the screen. “[The message continues]: ‘U keep reminding me of all that u did for me, but u blind to see that I don’t live anywhere and just trying to set my life back on track, but u take everything from me under false pretend (sic) by building up my hopes that am going to have u next to me … u took my money under false pretend, it nah guh so!!!’”
SIM cards swapped
Interestingly, the ex-girlfriend had previously testified for the prosecution on November 29 that Roberts had given her $10,000 on January 28, 2017, and that he had sent her a message saying he wanted to visit her.
She had also refuted defence attorney Chumu Parris’ suggestion that Roberts had spoken to her about a previous financial issue.
The police witness also told the court on Wednesday that data extracted from a cellular phone belonging to Roberts’ former co-defendant, Mario Morrison, indicated that a SIM card had been taken from Gray’s cellular phone and placed in Morrison’s phone, and vice-versa, with Morrison’s SIM card in Gray’s phone.
“What the data revealed is that Mr Morrison, after inserting his SIM card into Ms Gray’s phone, he also inserted her SIM card into his phone. The data shows that on January 30, 2017, Ms Shineka’s mobile number is being associated with Mr Morrison’s IMEI [International Mobile Equipment Identity], and Mr Morrison’s mobile number was associated with Shineka’s IMEI,” the witness told presiding High Court Justice Bertram Morrison.
On November 30, Mario Morrison – who is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in September 2022 to Gray’s murder – testified for the prosecution that on the night Gray was killed, Roberts gave him the schoolgirl’s phone and that he had put his SIM card in it.
The police witness’ testimony continues on Thursday morning.
Since the start of Roberts’ trial on November 23, sixteen out of an expected 18 witnesses have testified for the prosecution, with the court at times hearing grisly and chilling testimony against the defendant.
The court has so far heard testimony indicating that Roberts took Gray to a location in Irwin, St James, where he brutally stabbed her to death on January 29, 2017, and where her body was found three days later.
Gray was a grade 10 student of the Green Pond High School in St James at the time of her death.
She was last seen alive on her way home from the funeral of a schoolmate on January 29, 2017.