A prison informant's closed-door testimony in July that months after the killing Labrador confessed to drowning McMillen over money amounts to a vague concoction of a convicted swindler, lawyers for the accused and their relatives say. Plante remains jailed on bad-check charges filed by Tortolan authorities after his release last June. The trial has drawn a lot of U.S.-based media to this tropical island, located just 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. A beautiful setting, lack of motive, unlikely suspects and an attractive victim from a wealthy family all proved too tempting for some outlets to pass up. A nine-member jury comprised of residents of Tortola and neighboring islands will listen to evidence against the men.
Jurors can take notes and ask questions after the prosecution and defense finish their examinations.
Convictions for murder, and the lesser offense of manslaughter, both carry mandatory sentences of life in prison. Barbara Labrador, William Labrador's mother, is confident that her son will return home with her to Southampton, N.Y., sometime in April. Police painted the prosecution into a corner by charging the men based on suspicion, but evidence to back up the off-base suspicion never came, Barbara Labrador said. This trial is all for show. I don't care how many witnesses they put up.