The trial of a man charged with murdering his housemate began yesterday, with prosecutors alleging that the defendant was linked to the victim by their phones.

Davin Providence, from Sandys, has denied allegations that he murdered Jevon Daniels on an unknown date between May 13 and June 17, 2016.

Opening the Crown’s case in the Supreme Court, prosecutor Audley Quallo told the jury that Mr Daniels, who lived with Mr Providence, was last seen alive on May 13, 2016.

He said that on May 16, an unsuccessful search effort was launched. Mr Daniels’s mother also reached out to Mr Providence to inquire whether he had heard from the missing man. The jury heard that the defendant told her that he had.

Mr Quallo said that weeks later, in June 2016, a member of the public was flying a kite on Ireland Island in Sandys when he noticed a foul smell and saw a trash bag wrapped up in blue tape.

He subsequently called police, who confirmed that it contained the decomposing body of Mr Daniels, but were unable to determine his cause of death.

Mr Quallo said the body was nude and wrapped in a blanket, clear plastic construction sheeting and blue tape, and was then covered with trash bags and more blue tape.

He said that the jury would hear that Mr Providence had access to trash bags, construction sheets and blue tape through his work at a construction site within walking distance of his home.

Mr Quallo added that Mr Providence was also linked to Mr Daniels through their cellular phones.

He said: “The phone that Jevon used just prior to his death was the phone found in the possession of the defendant, with his SIM card in Jevon’s phone.”

As the trial began, the jury was shown photographs of the apartment that Mr Daniels and Mr Providence shared, including images of a wallet found to contain the victim’s driver’s licence and bank card.

The jury was also shown two phones that were seized from the Sandys property on May 21, 2016.

Detective Constable Jewel Hayward told the court that he attended the Ireland Rangers football grounds on June 17 after the body was discovered.

He said that the body was in an “advanced stage of decomposition” and the face was unrecognisable.

The trial continues.

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