Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
CONSULTANT FORENSIC pathologist Dr. Murari Sarangi yesterday described the gunshot injuries he saw on the bodies of the two senior citizens who were fatally shot at Flankers, St. James, on the early morning of October 25, 2003.
Woman Constable Bibzie Foster, Special Constable Metro McFarlane and constables Kevin Williams, Kadian Smith and Donald Thomas are on trial in the Home Circuit Court for the double murder.
The deceased are 63-year-old taxi driver David Bacchas and 63-year-old chef and newspaper vendor Cecil Brown, both of Flankers.
NINE INJURIES
Dr. Sarangi said that, on October 30, he performed post-mortems on the bodies. He said Bacchas' body had nine injuries, two of which could have been caused by glass splinters but the others were gunshot wounds and grazes.
Bacchas' body had a gunshot wound to the right frontal region of the head, which caused brain matter to escape and skull bone and teeth to be missing. Dr. Sarangi said, because of that injury, the whole contour of the head was deformed. Bacchas would have lost consciousness immediately after receiving the injury to the head, Dr. Sarangi said.
Brown had a gunshot injury to the back of the right side of the chest, and bullet grazes over the right shoulder and right wrist. Dr. Sarangi said that, in his opinion, Brown died as a result of haemorrhage, shock and blood loss as a result of the injury to the chest.
Dr. Sarangi said that, because of the absence of gunpowder around the entrance wounds, the muzzle of the weapon had been at least two to three feet away. He said the shooter was to the right of the deceased but he said he could not say what type of weapon caused the injuries.
