By: Audrey Raymonda John
Chief forensic medical examiner Dr Owizz Koroma has testified before magistrate Mark Ngegba of Pademba road court No1 in the alleged murder of Gillis Edward Ola Johnson (now deceased) involving a School boy Mohamed Arun Conteh.
The accused is arraigned on preliminary investigation on a count of murder contrary to law.
According to the charge, the accused Mohamed Arun Conteh on Saturday 11 March 2023 at Victoria Street Freetown murdered Mr Gillis Edward Ola Johnson.
Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma on Friday July 21st told the court that the cause of death of the teacher was due to homicidal cut throat completely severed both right and left jugular arteries and veins severed carotid arteries. Dr. Owizz Koroma said that on 15th March 2023, while at his ministry of internal affairs office, a request was made to him by the police to perform an autopsy at Connaught hospital mortuary on the remains of the 68 year old Gillis Edward Ola Johnson, a school teacher.
On completion of the process, he said he reduced his findings and as per standard practice, prepared a medical certificate of the cause of death for proper burial.
The postmortem examination he said was done in the presence of the scene of crime officer and the investigating officer among other persons.
The autopsy report which he said has been in his custody states that the death of the teacher was unnatural, and manner evidently homicidal bearing the hall marks of a horrific, frenzied and brutal attack executed with incredible intensity.
The Consultant Pathologist said that the teacher died as a result of acute hemorrhagic shock due to profuse and torrential bleeding as a consequence of ruptured cartilage, extensive destruction of tissues and structures surrounding the right thyroid cartilage with four pens inserted firmly into the right glands.
The witness said there was no pre-existing disease condition to cause the teacher to collapse suddenly or to cause or accelerate his death on the fatal afternoon of 11th March 2023.
If not for the homicide cut throat, he said the 68 year old teacher would not have died.
Cross examined by Lawyer for the accused Emmanuel Teddy Koroma, Dr. Semion Owizz Koroma said barbaric excessive force was used to perpetuate such act on a hefty man measured at five feet eight inches tall and weighed at seventy kilograms.
He said he doesn’t need to know or have anything to do with the suspect or his or her legal representative before such an examination be carried out. It is not the practice he affirmed.
Asked whether there was any finger print on the pens done, the witness said no because such is not his job but rather should be the work of the investigating officer.
He told the defense lawyer that the teacher had normal length of esophagus with no bacteria.
The state prosecutor Lawyer Umu Sumaray told the court that on the next adjourned date which would be on Thursday 27th July, she will call in her last witness and close her case.