St. John’s, Antigua – A grieving daughter wept Thursday morning while testifying about the day she found her father, Maurison Thomas, murdered in his All Saints home.

The emotional witness broke down multiple times during day three of the murder trial against 31-year-old Delano Forbes. She wept especially hard when prosecutors displayed her father’s belongings – items reportedly found with the accused, including an army-colored hoodie she says she saw on someone fleeing her father’s property on March 7, 2018.

Taking the stand, the woman recounted the frantic hours of that afternoon when her father wouldn’t answer his phone. This was alarming, she explained, because the two communicated regularly throughout each day.

After numerous unanswered calls, she drove to his residence. Finding the door secured, she began yanking at louvres and struggling with the entrance when movement caught her eye; someone was running away from the property’s south side.

The fleeing individual, she told the court, was dark-skinned, stood roughly five-foot-five or five-foot-six, wore small plaits, and was dressed in an army-colored hoodie. Frightened, she rushed to a nearby home and summoned help.

Others eventually entered the house while she remained outside. She said her composure shattered as she recalled the moment someone emerged with the devastating news – her father was gone.

Days following the tragedy, police asked her to examine evidence they’d collected. Among the items: the distinctive hoodie she’d seen during those terrifying moments, along with a belt, a black bag, and a Tommy Hilfiger wallet filled with cash and identification cards – a Father’s Day gift from her to him.

Authorities claim they recovered all these items from Forbes after tracking him down to a pump house where he’d been hiding for several weeks.

However, Defence Attorney Sherfield Bowen pointed out a significant issue: the wallet wasn’t actually among the physical evidence presented. Director of Public Prosecutions Clement Joseph acknowledged that both the wallet and a wooden necklace have gone missing, with investigators still attempting to locate them.

Proceedings resume on Friday.