- confirms Pathologist Koroma
January 20, 2016 By Hawa Amara
Government pathologist, Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma, yesterday told the High Court in Freetown that alleged murder victim, Sydney David Buckle aka DJ Cleff, died of stab wound on the neck.
The pathologist was testifying as an expert witness in the suspected murder trial of the popular disc jockey, for which Mbamba Moi Foray, Foday Amara Kamara and Avril Oredola Renner are standing trial.
Dr. Koroma revealed that during postmortem on the decomposed body of the deceased he discovered that some of his toes were missing, the left eye was plucked out and a 2cm wide stab wound on the right part of the neck, adding that the cause of death was not natural.
The medico said the ear, nose and mouth of the deceased were intact, with a tattoo on the right hand of the body visible. He said the skull looked normal, the cervical vertebrate was fractured, while the lungs on both left and right had collapsed.
Dr. Koroma said he was part of the police team that visited the alleged crime scene – the residence of first accused Mbamba Moi Foray, aka LA Chocolate, at Aberdeen, west of Freetown, on 3 June, 2015.
He said the team noticed that there was no carpet or rug on the floor of the store room, with signs indicating it had been removed, although it was retrieved.
Dr. Koroma stated that he instructed the senior crime officer to take photos and collect trace evidence for analysis at the Criminal Investigation Department.
The carpet was tendered as Exhibit X.
Dr. Koroma stated that on 10 June last year, acting on the instruction of the Chief Medical Officer and request of the coroner, he travelled to the Waterloo Ebola cemetery to exhume the corpse of the deceased to perform an autopsy.
“I carried out the autopsy examination on the body and after the examination I reduced my findings to a postmortem report, which was signed and dated by me,” he explained. The report was tendered as Exhibit A1-5.
While being cross-examined by the defence, Dr. Koroma declined that dogs had feasted on the remains of the deceased before burial.
The corpse of what was suspected to be the disc jockey was found abandoned around Murray Town, few distance from Aberdeen, where he was last seen few days after he disappeared.
In court, also, was David Sahr Moisay, a footballer who plies his trade in Cyprus, who was among guests invited to the birthday party of third accused Avril Oredola Renner, hosted at the home of first accused Mbamba Moi Foray.
Moisay recalled that on 22 May, 2015 he received a text message from the third accused, while in Cyprus, inviting him to attend her birthday party.
He said he went to the party at around 10pm and that he met other guests at the party, including the three accused persons.
He said he saw the deceased at the party and guests were served food and drinks, which included alcohol. He said he and one Idriss Tunde Scott went into the pool to swim.
“While we were swimming I heard a nice song playing and I came out of the pool to go inside to dance, but I was stopped by the second accused from entering the house. So I returned to the swimming pool when I overheard Claude telling Idriss Scot to go home and Idriss was shouting the name of the deceased, but Claude said we should leave him since he is a mature man,” the witness explained.
The accused persons, according to the prosecution, conspired to and murdered the deceased on Friday, 22 May, 2015 at the No.1 Johnson Street, Off Aberdeen residence of the first accused, in Freetown.
The accused persons are represented by O.V. Robbin-Mason, M.P. Sesay, I.P. Mammie and S. Nicol, whilst the Acting Director of Public Prosecution, Suliaman A. Bah, is prosecutor.
The matter will continue on 21 January.