Anonymous witness points finger at Rankine as killer

(CNS): An anonymous witness in the trial of Antascio Rankine (30) and Roland Welcome (30), who are accused of murdering Sven Connor, insisted that they were not mistaken when they saw Rankine involved in a serious altercation with the victim minutes before he was shot dead. Only the judge and the jury could see the witness and hear their real voice as they gave evidence via a video link last week.

The witness testified that they had seen him again, walking away from the murder scene seconds after shots were fired. Known as Witness A, the person is key to the crown’s case against Rankine, who they say was one of four men who killed Connor in December 2023 in East End.

Only a distorted version of the witness’s voice was played in the courtroom for the lawyers, the media and the defendants, Rankine and Welcome, who are charged with murdering Connor. The other two men caught on CCTV with them, who prosecutors say conspired in the murder and may have supplied the guns used, have never been apprehended.

During cross-examination of Witness A, Rankine’s attorney, Liam Walker KC, suggested several times that the witness could have been mistaken — as they had been about other people they claimed to have seen in the area when Rankine and Connor argued about 20 minutes before he was shot dead, who were proved not to be at the location at the time of the killing.

But the witness was insistent, stating that they had known Rankine since he was born and was definitely not mistaken. The witness asked the lawyer if they should have remained silent like so many others did on the night of the murder. Witness A said they were angry about the shooting.

“Everyone would be if they were willing to admit it,” the witness said, adding that Connor had “wound up dead” just minutes after the public argument. “It’s a shocking thing for East End… I’m still upset. Am I wrong for giving my statement? Or should I have kept my mouth shut, like everyone else?” the person said.

The witness said that other people who had seen what happened were standing close by but had refused to come forward. “I want East End to clean up this shot,” they added.

The lawyer suggested the witness had been mistaken about a number of claims about that night, such as what people were wearing and carrying. However, the witness stuck to their position that they had seen both the fight and Rankine leaving the murder scene and had heard six or seven shots in quick succession.

Witness A was adamant when they said they had seen Rankine pelt rocks at Connor, that their view had not been impaired by trees, and that the street lights in the area illuminated the scene of the altercation and Rankine as he walked under the light after the shooting.

Rankine has denied being in the area on the night in question and has denied having anything to do with the killing, insisting he is not the individual on the CCTV who, according to the crown, was identified by several people.

Welcome, who has accepted that he was there that night, is said to have dragged Rankine away from the dispute with Connor. However, he has claimed that he was not involved in the murder and had, under duress, acted as a lookout because the two other unidentified killers caught on camera with welcome and Rankine had threatened him.

He told police that they were the kind of people that you should be afraid of, but he did not know their names.

Connor was shot multiple times in his own home through his bedroom window at his home on Fiddlers Way in East End, just a short walk away from the alleged confrontation with Rankine.

The case continues.