By Saio Marrah
An autopsy report detailing the causes of the death of one Isha Saidu Hughes has been tendered in evidence in the ongoing murder trial of his elder brother Sulaiman Conteh has concluded that the deceased was stabbed seven times leading to her death.
Led in evidence by State Prosecutor Aruna Jalloh, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma read out his report prepared before Justice Monfred Sesay at Freetown High Court No.2 on Wednesday 8th November 2023. He said the deceased died at 1:30 hours of 14th July this year.
Dr. Koroma said the deceased had four homicidal stab wounds on the abdomen, two stab wounds on the chest wall and one on her back. He told the court that the deceased also had blunt force of fractures on the head. Dr. Koroma also told court the accused also had what he called defence wounds on both palms.
According to him, the deceased died because of acute homoerotic shock, pointing out that the injury/stab wounds occurred first, followed by torrential bleeding and that the homoerotic shock took her life.
Sierra Leone’s Chief Medical Examiner told the court that the attack on the deceased was physically frenzied, barbaric and that it was done with maximum force at the highest density. He added that the corpse also had raccoon eyes, which is normally caused by massive skull rupture.
Dr. Koroma told the court that the deceased had no preexisting disease to cause her to collapse, noting that throughout his practice of conducting pathology of close to one million cases in and out of the country, he had never experienced such a barbaric murder.
The fourth prosecution witness, Detective sergeant Alimamy Kamara attached to the exhibit office at the Kissy Barracks Police Station, tendered a big old hammer with a wooden handle, a cutlass with rubber handle, a kitchen knife and another sharp metal object in connection to the murder.
Detective Police Constable Mohamed Koroma also from the same Police Station as the fifth prosecution witness told the court that on the 14th July this year, he was on duty when he was informed about the murder incident at 6A Savage Street in Wellington, Eastern Freetown.
He told the court that together with a team of police officers he went to the scene where they met the accused on the floor with a wound on his side and blood oozing from the wound.
He said they also saw a trace of blood from where he [the accused] was to the bathroom of the house, where they met the deceased also on the floor with multiple wounds.
The witness said while the deceased was taken to the Connaught hospital’s mortuary the accused was rushed to the Kingtom Police hospital for treatment and that when the accused was discharged he obtained a statement from him in which he admitted killing his sister.
The sixth prosecution witness, Detective Sergeant Ibrahim Kamara, who also said he visited the crime scene and took photographs of the scene, added that they met the deceased covered with a frame in the bathroom.
The accused had already pleaded guilty to the charge in court, but the presiding judge told him the trial would proceed as dictated by law, due to the seriousness of the crime.
The trial resumes next Wednesday 15th November, 2023.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (10/11/23)
