MONTEGO BAY, St. James – The continuing trial into the loss of life of Mario Deane in 2014 heard testimony in the present day from Dr. Murari Sarangi, the forensic pathologist who carried out the post-mortem on the deceased.
Showing through Zoom earlier than the Westmoreland Circuit Courtroom, the now-retired Dr. Sarangi offered essential particulars relating to the accidents sustained by Deane, which he stated have been per blunt-force trauma.
Dr. Sarangi, who carried out the post-mortem on September 2, 2014, lower than a month after Deane’s passing on the Cornwall Regional Hospital on August sixth of that yr, detailed his findings in the course of the ninth day of proof within the case towards Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant. The three officers are charged in reference to Deane’s loss of life.
Deane was admitted to the hospital in an unconscious state on August third, 2014, three days after he was reportedly overwhelmed whereas in custody on the Barnett Avenue Police Station lock-up. He had been taken into custody for possession of a ganja spliff.
Throughout his testimony, Dr. Sarangi acknowledged that his examination of Deane’s physique revealed a bruise on the precise facet of his head and face, an damage per blunt-force trauma. He defined that such an damage might have resulted from being struck towards a wall or with a blunt object.
The courtroom additionally heard that in his tenure in Jamaica from 1999 to 2023, Dr. Sarangi was the only real forensic pathologist working in western Jamaica, conducting a median of 1,000 autopsies yearly.
The trial was subsequently adjourned and can resume on Wednesday, March twenty sixth, when Dr. Sarangi is scheduled to proceed his evidence-in-chief.
Corporal Stewart, Constable Clevon, and Constable Grant are dealing with expenses of manslaughter, misconduct in a public workplace, and perverting the course of justice. The allegations towards them stem from their alleged presence on responsibility on the Barnett Avenue lock-up on the time Deane was reportedly assaulted. Moreover, Corporal Stewart is accused of ordering the cleansing of the cell the place the beating allegedly occurred earlier than investigators from the Unbiased Fee of Investigations (INDECOM) arrived on the scene.