On Wednesday, dramatic developments unfolded in the Superior Court as a key witness in the ongoing 2018 downtown Windsor murder trial resumed her testimony. Keima Davis-Baynes, once a peripheral figure in the trial, asserted her earlier statements to police had been false due to her belief that such admission would secure her release from incarceration and the custody of her child.
The trial pertains to the untimely demise of University of Windsor scholar, Jason Pantlitz-Solomon, who met his tragic end on August 27, 2018 at the junction of Ouellette and University Avenues. Kahli Johnson-Phillips, aged 27, has been indicted and is currently facing charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Earlier this week, Davis-Baynes admitted in front of the court members that she occupied the white Nissan Altima that ferried two other men and herself from Mississauga to Windsor in the pre-dawn hours of August 27. That said, she dismissed any queries regarding her knowledge of their destination or purpose, claiming her involvement to be non-voluntary and instigated by her procurer, cryptically known as “George.”
As the defense lawyer, Michael Moon, combed through evidence, he aimed at establishing Davis-Baynes’ dishonesty during a taped police interview in 2019. Moon referred to this episode as “the big lie”, wherein he theorized Davis-Baynes had wrongly attributed the suspect’s identity to appease law enforcement, thereby securing her freedom.
Davis-Baynes spoke of the police interrogation on July 10, 2019, during which she identified the killer as a man known as “Blanco” – an alias for Kahli Johnson-Phillips. However, during the trial, she reversed her statement, claiming it was her procurer “George” who had committed the crime.
Moon discovered anomalies in her phone records that discredited her earlier testimony. There were no calls from “Blanco” on the night of the murder, while nine calls from “Tamara”, a placeholder for “George”, were recorded on Davis-Baynes’ phone on August 26, 2018.
Throughout multiple police interviews, Davis-Baynes admitted to repeatedly misleading authorities by pinning the blame on Johnson-Phillips. She confessed her acquaintance with Johnson-Phillips, having been romantically involved shortly before the murder.
A particularly gripping episode of the trial was when Moon played back the closing moments of Davis-Baynes’ police interview, where she tearfully named Johnson-Phillips as the murderer.
Challenging her, Moon starkly asked, “Who were you really with in Windsor?” Standing against the weight of her actions, Davis-Baynes held her ground: “George”. Admitting to lying under oath, she revealed her willingness to go against law enforcement, despite understanding the gravity of the crime and its implications. Upon being questioned about her commitment to her children, Davis-Baynes held her ground, adamantly repeating, “George.”
