claimed to have personally struck a deal to get a suspect in the Middleton murder case a lesser charge.

Despite numerous denials of any deal by prosecutors, Mr. Pettingill, who is also a United Bermuda Party Senator, said he approached senior Police officers investigating the death of the 17-year-old Canadian with an offer that would get his client off a murder indictment.

He told The Commission of Inquiry into Serious Crimes that the then Superintendent Victor Richmond and Detective Inspector Stuart Crockwell took his proposal to former Attorney General Elliott Mottley and senior prosecutors, including the now Director of Public Prosecutions Khamisi Tokunbo.

The hearing heard how just hours later, when suspect Kirk Mundy was brought up before the court to be formally charged for his part in the murder, Mr.

Pettingill was told by the detective inspector: "There you go, you got what you wanted.'' Mr. Pettingill claimed that, as a result, Mundy was charged with accessory after the fact, on the basis that he testified against his co-accused Justis Smith.

Mr. Mottley and Mr. Tokunbo have this week publicly denied that a deal was struck, both claiming they had no evidence to charge Mundy with anything more.

But Mr. Pettingill said yesterday how he had taken instruction from Mundy to propose to officers that his client would plead guilty to a lesser charge.

The Senator said: "I made the proposal on my instructions to Vic Richmond and to Det. Insp. Crockwell on Friday, July 12 at the conclusion of two days of statements.

"It was on the basis of a lesser charge.

"I did not believe the officers could respond to my proposal, but my quest to them was that they pass on my proposal (to the Attorney General).

"There was a special hearing in Magistrates' Court the following morning.

"When I appeared in court I was given the charge sheet by Inspector Crockwell, he said `there you go, you got what you wanted'.'' Mr. Pettingill said he tried to contact Mr. Mottley personally by telephone to discuss the offer, but was unable to reach him. So instead he went to the Police officers.

He said he did not think to put the offer of a deal in writing, because it was his understanding that the official position of the AG's chambers was that they did not plea bargain on a formal basis.

But he said the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Privy Council had upheld the claim that there was a deal over Mundy's charge.

Despite officers identifying and charging two suspects, nobody has ever been convicted of killing Rebecca Middleton.

Mundy got the deal he `wanted' Smith was acquitted of her murder after Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux deemed there to be insufficient evidence -- a decision labelled "astonishing'' by the Privy Council.

The law did not allow Smith to go to trial again as once someone is acquitted of a crime they cannot be tried again.

Mundy received a five year sentence after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact.

However, experts believe two people played a role in her murder -- one person to hold her down, while the other inflicted the torture wounds.

After detectives had sufficient evidence to charge Mundy with murder, they were unable to rescue the botched case.

Prosecutors and Police have been accused of accepting the deal before the case had been thoroughly investigated and before any test results had been returned.

The Royal Gazette reported yesterday how Mr. Tokunbo had denied the deal while giving evidence under oath at the inquiry.

When asked if Mundy had been given immunity, Mr. Tokunbo replied: "Of course not. No document was written by Mundy's lawyer or anyone.

"There was nothing of the sort and no need for it, the issue never arose.'' He said Mundy's cautioned statement was the only evidence against Smith.

He said the Crown was relying on the "trust'' of Mundy to testify against Smith.

However, Former AG Saul Froomkin yesterday took to the witness stand for a second time to refute the DPP's claims that there was no deal.

He said: "Apparently the previous witness who has just left the stand (Mr.

Tokunbo) was shocked that I mentioned the immunity agreement (last week).

"Certainly, my involvement in the Mundy case made it abundantly clear that there was an agreement.

"I made it clear there was no written agreement. But I am aware of affidavits that were filed.

"The Privy Council certainly believe, based on the evidence, that there was an agreement.'' Both Mr. Tokunbo and Mr. Froomkin agreed with each other that the law should be amended to allow poor decisions by judges that lead to the acquittal of defendants to be overruled by the Court of Appeal.

Mr. Pettingill will resume his evidence today.