ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The RNC officer sitting with taxi driver Jeff Cromwell started by explaining what she was about to do.
"You're about to view a series of photographs for the purpose of identifying an individual," Const. Brittany Hierlihy told him. "You must understand that I do not know the suspect that has been identified, or even if he or she is in the lineup. The photographs in the lineup have been taken at different times in the past and people's features do change slightly.
"The photograph image of the person we are trying to identify may or may not be present. You are not obliged to identify any of them. If you do not feel that you see the person we're trying to identify, that is OK."
After signing a form to confirm he understood, Cromwell looked at the 12 photos Hierlihy presented to him and very quickly pointed to the last one.
"Yeah, that's him, b'y," Cromwell told the police officer. "He's changed a little bit, but not much. Looks a little bit healthier in that picture."
Cromwell had identified Craig Pope, the man police had arrested on suspicion of having murdered Jonathan Collins by stabbing him on a street in the west end of St. John's earlier that day.
Collins, 36, was a father of two.
RNC officers also showed lineups to three other witnesses: one woman said she didn't see the suspect, while another said she couldn't say for sure. A man narrowed it down to two photos, saying he was leaning toward one in particular. That photo was of Pope.
Pope is on trial in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's, having pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder for the death of Collins on Sept. 17, 2017.
Prosecutors Shawn Patten and Jude Hall say Pope and Collins had spent most of the day together in Cromwell's taxi, making a number of stops before asking to go to Alderberry Street, in the centre-west end of St. John's. There, they got into a physical altercation on the street, the prosecutors say, and Pope stabbed Collins in the stomach before leaving in the cab, telling Cromwell to "run (Collins) the f--- over."
Pope was arrested within the hour in a medical clinic off Elizabeth Avenue. While being pursued by police, Pope had reportedly entered the clinic and asked to make an appointment for his wife with a plastic surgeon.
Collins was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival by ambulance at the Health Sciences Centre, having received a single stab wound to the lower left abdomen.
Thursday, Day 3 of Pope's trial, saw Const. Pamela Pike and Const. Cynthia Crocker, two forensic identification officers with the RNC, take the witness stand. The police officers spoke of having photographed the scene of the stabbing, as well as assisting medical examiner Dr. Simon Avis with Collins' autopsy, seizing his clothing and various DNA samples. His shirt, a red tank top, had a "defect," Pike explained - a hole, in the photographs - which was consistent with the size and location of his fatal wound. His clothes were blood-stained, and he had minor injuries on his elbow, knee and shin.
Pike reviewed photos she had taken of a black backpack that had been found on the ground near where Collins' collapsed, detailing its contents: Collins' wallet, five cellphones, various store receipts, unlabelled prescription pills, a medical requisition for Pope, a court document for Collins, a T-shirt and a razor among them.
A small folding knife was found in a pocket of the backpack, which Avis reviewed and told police he could not rule out as the murder weapon, based on its measurements. It - and other items - were sent to a federal forensics lab for testing. The court has yet to hear details of the results, though Pike said based on the reports she had received from the lab, police obtained a warrant to obtain a sample of Pope's DNA.
Months after Collins' death, police were called to a residence, where a woman turned in a second knife, wrapped in plastic bags. This one was bigger, with a wooden handle and a leather sheath decorated with the word "Cuba." Avis determined it had not been used to stab Collins.
The two forensic officers also examined Cromwell's taxi, which had been brought to RNC headquarters. They found fingerprints, as well as what they believed to be bloodstains on the interior and exterior of the vehicle.
Pike explained to the jury how she had photographed Pope at RNC headquarters that same night, and presented those photographs. Pike said she had advised Pope she would be seizing his clothing and photographing his tattoos and injuries.
"He had what appeared to be an open wound on his top lip and a cut on his lower lip," Pike told the court.
There were visible injuries inside his mouth, she said. Pike also photographed Pope's hands, which had no injuries, and took swabs of them.
"We photograph hands in the case of an alleged disturbance or assault, looking for injuries or bruises," Pike explained. "In my experience, if there was a disturbance or a physical altercation, people tend to use their hands."
Pike photographed stains she believed might be blood on Pope's shirt and jeans.
Pope's trial will resume Monday.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
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