Pathologist says Deane was pinned down during fatal beating

WESTERN BUREAU:

Dr Murari Sarangi, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Mario Deane’s body, yesterday, told the Westmoreland Circuit Court that based on the injuries he saw, he concluded that the deceased man was pinned down during the fatal beating.

Deane died at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), in Montego Bay, on August 6, 2014, three days after being beaten into an unconscious state at the Barnett Street Police Station, also in Montego Bay. He had been arrested a few hours earlier and placed in custody for possession of a ganja spliff.

Sarangi, who is retired and now resides outside of Jamaica, yesterday, concluded his evidence in chief via the online Zoom platform in the trial of Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, who are charged in connection with Deane’s death.

According to Sarangi, based on his findings, Deane suffered a fractured skull, a tightly squeezed neck, and 19 external injuries to his head, face, arms, shoulders, and waist.

“I saw four abraded bruises, or contusions, located in a cluster on the back of the neck at its base, across the midline [middle point of the body] on the back, and these wounds were present 28 centimetres below the top of the head. From the typical appearance of these wounds, they were consistent with pressure from human fingers as if they were on the back of the neck of the deceased,” Sarangi told the court.

“There were bruises on the tip and margin of the tongue, bruising of the cheek muscles and gum margins on the right side, consistent with some localised pressure when the mouth is forcefully closed to prevent the person from making a cry or scream. Some bones in the skull were showing linear fractures, meaning they were broken,” Sarangi outlined. “There were signs of aspiration of blood in the lungs, indicating that the deceased had swallowed some blood and it had gone into the lungs. This blood came from the injuries he sustained in the neck and mouth, and that could have contributed to his death.”

EXTERNAL INJURIES

Sarangi also told the court that Deane suffered several other external injuries, including wounds to his face, head, and shoulders that were likely caused by blunt-force impact, either from an instrument or from being pressed, dragged, or thrown against a wall or floor.

The pathologist, who was once based at the CRH, where he did over 5,000 autopsies between 1999 and 2023, told the court that Deane’s skull fractures, which contributed to bleeding in his brain, which he concluded caused his death, could only have happened if the blows that caused those wounds were intended to kill him.

“The cause of death was severe blunt- force injury to the head, resulting in broken skull bones and bleeding in the brain substance in association with manual strangulation of the neck, resulting in damage and bleeding in the neck structure and lack of oxygen,” Sarangi summarised. “Unless the blows were severe, the skull would not have been fractured, particularly in a young male of Mario Deane’s age. The skull is very tough and quite resilient to blunt force unless the force is severe.”

Following Sarangi’s evidence-in-chief, defence lawyers Martyn Thomas and Dalton Reid declined to cross-examine him, and he was dismissed.

At that juncture, High Court Justice Courtney Daye adjourned the trial until March 31, at which time an investigator from the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is expected to testify for the prosecution.

Stewart, Clevon, and Grant are charged with manslaughter, misconduct in a public office, and perverting the course of justice. They were reportedly on duty at the Barnett Street Police Station when Deane was beaten.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com