Prison deaths COI…No headless remains among corpses – State Pathologist

May 04, 2016 News

Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh said that post mortem examinations conducted on the bodies of prisoners, who perished in the March 3, Camp Street disturbance, in some cases revealed evidence of blunt trauma.
Dr Singh testified before the Commission of Inquiry into the incident at the Ministry of Presidency Department of Public Service, Waterloo Street, South Cummingsburg, yesterday. The COI was ordered by President David Granger following one of the deadliest riots that took place within the prisons in recent years.
Seventeen prisoners perished in the blaze; they were trapped in a raging fire in the Capital ‘A’ Block of the Camp Street facility.
Following the incident autopsies were done by Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, at both the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and the Memorial Gardens and Crematorium.
Dr. Singh told the Commission that although the bodies were burnt severely, he could not recall any examining any headless corpse.
The Pathologist was at the time responding to questions posed by Counsel for the Commission Excellence Dazzell. The attorney inquired about the injuries which the prisoners sustained during the incident.
Prisoners and joint services officials had previously told the three -member Commission of a decapitated corpse found amongst the inmates who perished in the fire.
However, Dr Singh specifically noted that the corpses of all the inmates were intact when he examined them.
“All the bodies the heads were intact; all of them. If there was a headless corpse, the families would have complained. If you check the report there is no such thing as a headless body,” he stated.
The witness provided the panel with the details of the autopsies, which he said were conducted in the presence of members of the victims’ families.
He said that most of the relatives identified the bodies of the inmates because of their tattoos.
In addition to the 90% to 95 % burns that the prisoners would have suffered, Dr Singh said there was also evidence of blunt trauma to some prisoners. He explained that the blunt trauma could have been caused by several things including cutting, falling, hitting, and lashing, but he could not specifically say what caused the trauma.
Asked whether any of the corpses had been degutted, Dr. Singh explained that in fires, the intestines would often start to protrude the stomach area since it is thinnest area of the body, easily consumed in a blaze.
Meanwhile, Attorney for the Joint Services, Eusi Anderson asked the Pathologist specifically about the limitations in his field of work. Anderson questioned whether there were indications that the inmates were injured before they perished in the fire.
However, Dr Singh said that based on his examination he could not say whether the prisoners suffered injuries prior to the fire.

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Prison deaths COI…No headless remains among corpses – State Pathologist

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