BREAKING | Noel Maitland Found Guilty in Donna-Lee Donaldson Murder Case
Police Constable Noel Maitland was today found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, 24-year-old social media influencer and entrepreneur Donna-Lee Donaldson.
After deliberating for just over three hours, the jury returned its verdict in the Home Circuit Court this afternoon. Maitland, who was charged with murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse, broke down in tears as he was led away in custody. He is to be sentenced on March 13.
Donaldson has been missing since July 11, 2022. Her body has never been recovered.
The prosecution’s case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence, which Crown counsel argued formed an unbroken chain pointing to Maitland as the only person responsible for Donaldson’s death.
Jurors heard evidence of bloodstains found inside Maitland’s Chelsea Manor apartment in St Andrew, the removal and disposal of furniture shortly after Donaldson’s disappearance, and phone records tracking Maitland’s movements and communications in the days that followed.
Prosecutors also highlighted what they described as Maitland’s calculated efforts to mislead investigators and Donaldson’s family.
The defence maintained that the case was speculative, citing the absence of a body, weapon, or eyewitnesses, and urged the jury to reject what it called unreliable evidence.
In an unsworn statement from the dock, Maitland denied killing Donaldson, saying he loved her and had no reason to harm her.
The guilty verdict brings a major development in one of Jamaica’s most closely watched murder cases.
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