Jamaica taxi man found guilty of murdering T&T schoolteacher Coudray-Greaves

(Jamaica Gleaner) Westmoreland taxi operator Ivan Taylor has been found guilty of the murder of Trinidadian schoolteacher, Michelle Coudray-Greaves.

A 12-member jury which heard the case returned the verdict yesterday in the St James Circuit Court.

Taylor, who served as an on-call ‘cabbie’ for the Trinidadian woman, was arrested shortly after her burnt remains were found in a cane field on the outskirts of Montego Bay on June 10, 2012.

Forensic science was used to determine the identity of the dead woman.

Orthodontist Dr Christopher Ogunsalu used Courdray-Greaves’ dental records to identify her and consultant forensic pathologist Dr Murari Saranji, testified that she died from blunt force trauma to her head. In the case that lasted 17 days and featured a number of expert witnesses from both the medical and technological fields, the prosecution relied heavily on circumstantial evidence.

Cell site analysis on the night Coudray-Greave went missing placed Taylor in the vicinity of the location where the body was found.

Two civilian witnesses also testified that they saw a car resembling Taylor’s driving out of the cane field in the wee hours of the morning Courdray-Greaves went missing.

Taylor is to be sentenced on July 23.