By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN inquest into the fatal 2024 boating accident off Rose Island was abruptly halted yesterday after Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux found that numerous police officers had failed to appear in court and that there was insufficient evidence to proceed.                       

The inquest, which lasted only three days, had been examining the deaths of Adriel Rolle, 56, and Sean Laing, 51, who were killed on June 7, 2024, when their vessel struck a reef near Rose Island. According to police reports, the 32-foot Concept boat left a marina bound for South Andros before hitting a reef and ejecting all three people on board. The victims were later found by a passing vessel. The lone survivor, Julian Butler, a retired police reservist, was treated for head injuries. The vessel reportedly sank while being towed back to New Providence. Coroner Turnquest-Deveaux ended the proceedings after hearing the testimony of Inspector Ford, the captain of the boat that took officers and members of the press on the recovery mission. She questioned him for more than ten minutes about his role and his handling of GPS data, but he failed to give clear and consistent answers.

Inspector Ford was unable to say how long GPS coordinates were stored on the vessel, one of the new boats donated to the Royal Bahamas Police Force by the US Embassy. He claimed the storage duration depended on how often the boat was used but could not explain how he obtained the coordinates for the crash site, saying both that he had entered them manually and that he was directed to the area.

The coroner told him he was impeding the investigation and ordered him off the stand.

Evidence marshal Angelo Whitfield told the court that of the 30 witnesses summoned, only 11 appeared to testify. He said the investigation had been “grossly impeded” by the failure of officers to appear and by inconsistencies in the evidence presented. He recommended that the inquest be suspended until the Royal Bahamas Police Force reevaluates its case. 

Coroner Turnquest-Deveaux then discharged the jury and officially halted the inquest.

Before the proceedings ended, Assistant Superintendent of Police Gardell Rolle read reports from three officers who did not appear: Detective Constables Alex Rolle, Trevon Paul, and Deniro Deveaux.

According to DC Rolle’s report, the blue-and-white vessel was recovered and towed to Arawak Cay on June 8, 2024. Photographs of the boat showed extensive damage to its front, with sections of the upper hull missing and damage to the tops of both rear engines.

This is the second inquest this year to collapse due to poor evidence. Last month, the inquest into the 2024 traffic accident that killed three brothers, Philip McCarron Christie, 24, Philip D’Caprio Christie, 23, and D’Angelo Christie, 20, was also suspended after the evidence marshal found key testimony and documentation from traffic police were missing.

The Christie brothers were killed shortly after 2am on September 2, 2024, in a collision on Sir Milo Butler Highway.