Pathologist says Deane’s injuries were consistent with blunt-force trauma

Western Bureau:

Dr Murari Sarangi, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Mario Deane’s body after his 2014 death in custody at the Barnett Street Police Station in Montego Bay, St James, told the Westmoreland Circuit Court yesterday that the injuries on Deane’s face were consistent with blunt-force trauma.

Sarangi, who is now retired and resides outside of Jamaica, gave his evidence-in-chief via the online Zoom platform, on what was the ninth day of the ongoing trial of Corporal Elaine Stewart and constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, the police personnel charged in connection with Deane’s death.

The defendants, who were on duty at the police station’s lockup on the day Deane was beaten, are charged with manslaughter, misconduct in a public office, and perverting the course of justice. Deane was 31 when he was killed.

“On September 2, 2014, I conducted a postmortem examination on the body of the deceased, Mario Deane, at the Cornwall Regional Hospital’s morgue in Montego Bay, St James, and I made notes at the time,” explained Sarangi. “There were surgical bandages around the head, and blood was noticed on the right ear, externally, and the lips and fingernail beds were discoloured and blue because of the lack of oxygen before he died.

“I also noticed quite a few injuries on the body of the deceased, Mario Deane. Injury number one was a raised abraded contusion with subcutaneous emphysema, 9.5 centimetres in length and nine centimetres in width, on the right side of the head, extending to the face and neck,” said Sarangi. “It would have been caused by hardened blunt force impact to that side of the head and involving the face and neck. It could be that the head was struck against a wall or if there was a severe blow with a blunt object.”

APPROXIMATELY 1,000 AUTOPSIES PER YEAR

Sarangi also told the court that, during his time working at the Cornwall Regional Hospital from 1999 to 2023, he was the only forensic pathologist assigned to work in western Jamaica. He noted that he performed approximately 1,000 autopsies per year during that period.

Additionally, in outlining his years of expertise since his certification in 1975, Sarangi said his training included forensic medical science in the administration of court justice, particularly forensic pathology, which deals with determining causes of death occurring under suspicious circumstances.

Sarangi is slated to continue his evidence-in-chief and his outline of his findings during Deane’s autopsy when the case continues before High Court Justice Courtney Daye today.

Deane, a construction worker of Rose Mount, in Montego Bay, was arrested on August 3, 2014, while on his way to work after member of the police force, who did a random search on his person, found him with a ganja spliff. He was placed in custody at the Barnett Street Police Station, where he sustained the fatal beating later that day.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com