Charges dropped against accused murderer

This morning, another accused murderer walked out of the Belize City Supreme Court a free man. Today twenty-four year old Avondale Trumbach was allowed to go home after his attorney Ellis Arnold successfully argued a no case submission before Justice Michelle Arana. Trumbach, better known as Hogbone, was arrested following the death of seventeen Shawn Clother in September 2003 in an alley off Cemetery Road in Belize City. The only eyewitness to the crime, Robert Flowers had fingered Trumbach as the shooter but Flowers died before the murder trial started. Flowers’ written statement was later rejected in the Supreme Court and Trumbach was acquitted of the crime. But last June, the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial as the Justices felt that the trial judge should have allowed Flowers’ testimony. Since then Trumbach has been behind bars but his attorney Arnold pointed out today that the police did not hold an identification parade during their investigations, a highly prejudicial move against his client. Arnold told the court: “The prosecution offered no evidence on which to convict. A no case submission is being made and should be upheld”. For her part, prosecutor Tracy Sosa admitted “the prosecution is not in a position to challenge”. As a result, Justice Arana told the jury, “…I have decided to uphold the no case submission. What you are to do now is to return a formal verdict of not guilty”. Trumbach, having been on remand for the past sixteen months, was then set free.