Today February 22, 2016, Justice Nicola Byer and members of the Jury heard closing arguments of both the Prosecution, lead by Crown Counsel Valston Graham and defence attorney Rebecca Trowler in the manslaughter case against Steve Fossi, the boat captain at the centre of an investigation following an accident on January 24, 2015. Photo: VINO

Fossi, 43, was the captain of the inflatable vessel, ‘The inevitable’, that allegedly hit a rock in the vicinity of Cow Mouth off Virgin Gorda on the night of January 24, 2015. Photo: Team of Reporters

Two passengers were killed in the accident – Howard Anderson of Jamaica and Kari Anne Way of the United States. Photo: Provided

Fossi, 43, was the captain of the inflatable vessel, ‘The inevitable’, that allegedly hit a rock in the vicinity of Cow Mouth off Virgin Gorda on the night of January 24, 2015. Two passengers were killed in the accident – Howard Anderson of Jamaica and Kari Anne Way of the United States.

Tomorrow, February 23, 2016, Justice Byer is to present her closing remarks for the case, which she said is already 200 pages long even without factoring in the presentations by the Prosecution and the defence.

In her remarks to the Jury, Trowler said that they have a duty to look at the evidence and base their decision thereon.

“Don't decide the case on the basis of any assumptions that the Police made. Don't decide the case on the basis of how many times Mr Graham made you laugh,” she said. “Don't decide on the basis of who has the loudest voice but look at the evidence and what it says about the case,” she said.

According to Trowler, two experts gave evidence and both of them agreed that it is possible the accident could have been caused by the failure of one of the two engines.

“When you take a good look at the evidence you can't [convict], as the evidence points in a different direction,” she said.

She said Fossi was a skilful boat captain with an unblemished record prior to the accident. She also dispelled the notion that he might have been impaired even though he was drinking alcohol.

“He had five and a half drinks over a period of seven hours,” she said, saying that depending on a number of factors it is not conclusive to say that someone will be impaired by alcohol after such a period. “It was not clear that he was impaired,” he said.

Further, she said it cannot be concluded that Fossi was at the helm of the vessel's control, given the evidence presented.