Supreme Court Judge Kay Beckford, after hearing the remarks which were made in the presence of the jury, stopped the trial and discharged the 12-member jury. The judge said that, in fairness to the accused, she had to order a new trial.

Rolando Davis, labourer of Belvedere, Red Hills, St Andrew, is to face a new trial in the Home Circuit Court.

The trial began on Monday and the eyewitness was being cross-examined by defence lawyer C.J. Mitchell when he made the prejudicial comments.

The Crown, represented by Dirk Harrison, deputy director of public prosecutions, had led evidence that on March 22, 2005, the deceased, Paul Bennett, was working on a construction site in Red Hills, when he was shot and stabbed.