The press and public were sent out of the Court of Appeal yesterday, while judges and lawyers discussed murder victim Raymond (Yankee) Rawlins’ alleged police informer status behind closed doors.As previously reported, defence lawyer Larry Mussenden first raised the issue on Monday during David Cox’s appeal against his conviction for the gangland slaying of Mr Rawlins.Mr Mussenden explained that the lawyer who originally represented Cox, John Perry QC, only became aware of Mr Rawlins’ alleged informant status after Cox had been convicted by a jury of the murder.Now, it is an issue he wishes to Court of Appeal to consider, since he says it may have given other people a motive to kill father-of-ten Mr Rawlins.Prosecutors say the crime was motivated by gang rivalry.During the trial last year they presented evidence that Cox, 33, was one of two gunmen who shot Mr Rawlins 16 times as he entered a nightclub in his Court Street neighbourhood early on August 9, 2010.Cox was convicted of murder and using a gun to commit the crime by the unanimous verdicts of a jury on June 10, 2011.According to prosecutors, Mr Rawlins, 47, had links to the Parkside gang which frequents Court Street. The jury in Cox’s trial heard allegations that Cox was a member of the 42 gang, who killed the victim to exact retribution against Parkside for an attack earlier that night on a 42 member.On Monday, Mr Mussenden suggested there may have been another motive for the killing.He told the three appeal judges: “Over the weekend, I was made aware of the issue as to whether the deceased was a police informer.”President of the Court Edward Zacca inquired whether Mr Mussenden had a sworn statement to that effect. Mr Mussenden said he did not, since he had just learned of the issue.“It’s a highly speculative ground of appeal,” noted another of the judges, Sir Robin Auld.Mr Mussenden replied: “It goes to the crux of the whole murder. The Crown’s case goes to the motive of the appellant (Cox). If the deceased may have been a police informer it opens the possibility there may have been other people with motives.”Justice Sir Anthony Evans noted that Mr Perry QC wrote a letter on the date Mr Cox was convicted of the crime, saying he only became aware of the issue after the conviction.Mr Mussenden said he would return to the issue later in the appeal, after gathering more information.When he returned to the topic yesterday afternoon, the judges cautioned him about discussing the topic in open court.Mr Mussenden agreed it might preferable to discuss the matter “in camera,” which means the press and public are not allowed to be present. The judges also sent out the security officers from the court, and Cox was taken to the cells during the discussion, having given his consent to not being present.The appeal is due to resume in open court today.Mr Mussenden has already listed several other grounds upon which he says Cox’s conviction is unsafe. Among them are arguments that the judge should not have allowed the jury to hear evidence that the guns used in the Rawlins murder had been used in previous firearm offences in Bermuda.“The prejudicial value outweighed the probative value of the evidence,” complained Mr Mussenden.He argued that police gang expert Alexander Rollin was not qualified to meet the legal test of being declared an expert, and his evidence against Mr Cox had an impact on the jury that was unfair. He went on to take issue with the way DNA, gunshot residue, alibi evidence and identification evidence was presented during the case.Mr Mussenden also complained about the way Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves summed up the case before the jury was sent out to deliberate.“The learned judge erred in that (his) summing up was unbalanced both in its tone and content and was in the nature of a prosecuting speech with unfairly adverse comment which wrongly prejudiced the case against the appellant,” he said.Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Cindy Clarke is contesting the appeal on behalf of the Crown, and will make submissions after Mr Mussenden wraps up his case today.