Former Attorney General Elliott Mottley last night denied there had ever been an immunity deal offered to one of the suspects in the Rebecca Middleton murder, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

For the first time, he refuted claims that Kirk Mundy had been offered a lesser charge, that of accessory after the fact, in return for a guilty plea and information.

Mr. Mottley, who has given his undertaking to attend the probe into the handling of serious crimes currently underway on the Island, provided he is invited, said he had nothing to hide and wanted to finally set the record straight.

He said: "There never was an immunity deal offered to Mundy. He was charged based on the evidence that the Police provided us with at the time.

"They had nothing else but his statement.

"For years people have said there was a deal, but there was no deal. There was no written immunity document because there was no immunity offered.

"We could only charge and prosecute people in relation to the evidence available and it simply was not there.

"I have never spoken out before, but now I think it is time.'' Rebecca, 17, from Belleville, Ontario, was found raped, tortured and stabbed to death on July 3, 1996, in Ferry Reach.

She and her friend Jasmine Meens had been staying in Bermuda on holiday with Jasmine's father, Rick, and had been to Harbour Nights in St. George's the night she was killed.

The two girls had failed several times to get a taxi home, so agreed to accept separate rides on bikes belonging to young men they had met.

Tragically, Rebecca never made it back.

A few days after her death, two males were arrested and subsequently charged in connection with her death, despite detectives having no DNA test results.

Even initial tests carried out by the Government analyst turned out to be wrong just two days after the suspects had first appeared in court.

Justis Smith was accused of premeditated murder, and Mundy of the lesser charge after he admitted only having consensual sex, with a condom, with Rebecca. Instead, he pointed the finger at Smith.

He claimed that after sex he went to clean himself in the sea nearby and when he came back Rebecca was dead.

Last Friday, Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Victor Richmond, who had overall charge of the Middleton case at the time, admitted at the inquiry that the charges were brought largely on the strength of Mundy's statement alone.

However, some months after the murder, experts ruled that semen found in Rebecca's vagina belonged to Mundy and that it was most likely that two people had been responsible for the teenager's death, one to hold her down, while the other inflicted the torture wounds.

When detectives tried to change Mundy's charge, they were told they were unable to. He received a five-year sentence for his part in her death.

AG insists no deal was made in murder case Smith was acquitted after Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux deemed there to be insufficient evidence, a decision later described as "astonishing'' by the Privy Council. As a result, nobody has ever been convicted of the murder of Rebecca.

Legally only the Attorney General or the prosecutors can decide what charges a defendant faces in serious indictable offences. The teenager's family have repeatedly called for an inquiry into the botched investigation and the failed prosecution, demanding to know why no one has been brought to justice for the death of their daughter, and why Mundy was charged only with being an accessory, when detectives did not have all the facts.

The bungled investigation was the catalyst for The Commission of Inquiry into serious crime on the Island, but the commissioners have no mandate to study in depth any particular case.

Yesterday, Mr. Meens, who has sat through every minute of the hearing since it began eight days ago, said he wanted to see Mr. Mottley, who is now living overseas, take to the stand to testify.

Chairman of the commission, Justice Stanley Moore, cannot subpoena witnesses living abroad, but he can invite them to attend.

Last night, Mr. Justice Moore said a decision would be taken in the next two days whether or not both Mr. Mottley and former Police Commissioner Colin Coxall should be invited to attend.

He said: "We are coming to the hurdle now where we must sit and discuss this matter. The circumstances relating to each of the men will be looked at independently and independent decisions made.'' Mr. Coxall said he does not anticipate attending from his home in England, although he will consider it if invited. Mr. Mottley, on the other hand, has promised to attend.

Mr. Meens said the family would never rest until the truth behind the failed investigation came to light and people were held responsible.

He said: "Nobody has been brought to justice for what happened to Rebecca and so far nobody has been held accountable.

"Her parents deserve to know what happened and they want to see Mr. Mottley at the hearing and on that stand. He has the answers.'' MURDER MUR CRIME CRM