Cynthia Osokogu’s murder trial: Pathologist delivers chilling accounts

 


The victim was ruled to have died of “asphyxia”.

The post-mortem examination of the body of the late Cynthia Osokogu revealed that she died from asphyxia – absence of Oxygen supply to the body, a pathologist told the court on Friday.

Ms. Osokogu, 24, was allegedly drugged and murdered in a hotel room last July in Lagos.

Okwumo Nwabufor and Olisaeloka Ezike are charged, for Ms. Osokogu’s death, with conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and felony.

Osita Orji, a Pharmacist who sold the Rophynol drug to the alleged murderers, is accused of reckless and negligent act; while Nonso Ezike, who pawned the deceased’s Blackberry phone, is charged with possession of stolen property.

While testifying on Friday, John Obafunwa, a Professor of Forensic Medicine, said that the blockage of the deceased’s upper respiratory airways was the immediate cause of her death. He dispelled any probability of a self-inflicted harm or outright suicide.

His account of the state of the corpse at autopsy was as revealing as it was chilling – hair nets and handkerchiefs stuffed into the deceased’s mouth as well as a semblance of bite marks on both thighs- leaving a few people in the court room teary-eyed.

“Her two hands were tied behind her back and wrapped with a brown tape, in addition to applying a chain around the hands. The two legs were also taped together,” Mr. Obafunwa said, narrating the outcome of his post-mortem examination at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

“The head area was stuffed in the mouth with what looked like a hair net – black/golden coloured- and a white handkerchief. All these were stacked inside her mouth and secured in place by same brown tape wrapped around the mouth,” he added.

Mr. Obafunwa said that after the objects were removed from the deceased’s mouth during autopsy; small indentations were observed around the lips, tongues, and inside of the mouth “due to the pressure of the materials inside the mouth.”

“The materials blocked the airways, she wouldn’t have been able to breathe,” said the pathologist.

“The lungs were heavy. The left and right lungs weighed 400 grammes and 500 grammes respectively. The normal weight should be about 250 – 300 grammes. They were heavy because of blood accumulation in the lungs, what we describe as Pulmonary Oedema.

“A combination of pin point haemorrhages, fluidity of blood and pulmonary oedema add up to the asphyxia. That was the immediate cause of death due to blockage of the upper respiratory airway. And this blockage was as a result of the gagging and choking,” Mr. Obafunwa said.

“The other findings of note are the multiple bruises and abrasions on the arms, the forearms, back, and what appeared to be bite marks on the front of the two thighs,” he added.

Other testimonies:

Two other prosecution witnesses also testified on Friday- Victor Okwukwe, Manager of Cosmillia Hotel where Ms. Osokogu’s body was found and Lucky Ehimeme, a photographer who took pictures of the lifeless body in the hotel room.

Mr. Okwukwe testified that after Ifeyinwa Francis, the receptionist, reported to him that she had received a phone call from someone informing her he would not be returning to Room C1, he asked her to go to the room.

“I asked her to call the room (C1). She called the room for about four times and nobody picked the phone. I then asked her to go up and knock at her door, if nobody opens the door, she should open the door and if the lady is sleeping, she should wake her up,” said Mr. Okwukwe, 43.

“She (the receptionist) came down to my office and told me that she opened the door and saw a body lying on the bed, naked. So I went up with her. When we got there, I saw a lady, fair in complexion, lying down on the bed, face up, naked, her hands tied at her back, her legs also tied up.”

Mr. Okwukwe said that he informed the owner of the hotel who directed him to alert the police.

But the arrival of the police, accompanied by a photographer and their resultant handling of events almost marred the prosecution’s case on Friday.

First, Mr. Ehimeme testified that either the police or the hotel staff turned the corpse to different positions so he could take various shots.

“When we got there (the hotel), they opened the room on the first floor and they (police) said I should snap anything I see,” said Mr. Ehimeme, 34.

Then, after printing out the photographs at the laboratory, Mr. Ehimeme said that the police ordered him to delete the pictures from his camera’s memory card as well as from the laboratory.

After Ade Ipaye, the lead prosecution counsel, tendered the photographs of the deceased’s lifeless body as evidence before the court, the defence counsels pounced on it, describing the deletion of the images on the memory card as “a destruction of the original evidence.”

“This evidence is a copy of the document. Failure to tender the memory card which is the foundation is a failure to produce the original evidence,” said Victor Opara, counsel to Mr. Nwabufor. “And since no foundation has been given before the tendering of the secondary evidence, I urge Your Lordship to reject the evidence. It’s either they tender the physical camera itself or the memory card.” Mr. Opara added.

After hearing arguments and counter arguments from defence and prosecution counsels, Olabisi Akinlade, the trial judge, ruled that neither the camera nor the memory card is primary evidence and admitted the photographs as exhibit before the court.

The judge adjourned till May 24 and 31 for continuation of trial.
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Are we better off braless? French Study Says Brassieres Are A 'False Necessity'

WOMEN who wear bras have SAGGIER boobs than women who don’t, according to a new study.

 

Scientists in France found that bras give no benefit at all in “denying breasts gravity” and claim the underwear is just a “false necessity”.
The research suggests wearing a bra could actually be sending our busts southwards, and does little to ease back pain.
Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon, from the University of Besancon, led the 15-year study into women’s breasts.
He said: “Medically, physiologically, anatomically – breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity.
“On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra”.

Undies model ... Danielle Lineker

Professor Rouillon spent years using a slide rule and caliper to measure changes in the orientation of the breasts of 130 women.
He carried out his research at the University Hospital in Besancon.
Capucine, a 28-year-old participant in the study, swears by the results - and has not worn a bra for two years.
She said: “There are multiple benefits: I breathe more easily, I carry myself better, and I have less back pain.”

#thesun.co.uk

Is this true, ladies? Let us know your personal opinion on this based on your experience...drop your comments below!

Shocking: The “House Of Horrors” Abortion Clinic Doctor Faces Death Penalty

In Pennsylvania, U.S., Dr. Kermit Gosnell faces the death penalty over allegations that he performed illegal late-term abortions by delivering babies, then snipping their spinal cords with scissors.

Afterward, he would reportedly cut off the babies’ feet and preserve them in jars.

Prosecutors also hold him responsible for the death of 41-year-old Bhutan refugee Karnamaya Mongar, who died from an overdose of anesthesia under his care.

Prosecutors also revealed that the clinic employed an unqualified staff — middle-school dropouts working alongside unlicensed medical school graduates.

The anesthesiologist was a sixth-grade dropout who couldn’t fully read or write, according to prosecutors. The woman who performed ultrasounds had an 8th grade education and phlebotomy certification for drawing blood. Another employee who worked in the operating room was a 15-year-old girl still attending high school.

Former employee Stephen Massof, an unlicensed medical school graduate, described snipping babies’ spinal cords as “literally a beheading.” He told the court that “it would rain fetuses.”

The more women paid, the more anesthesia they received.

Gosnell allegedly gave preferential treatment to white patients, whom he would meet with one-on-one before their procedures.

Former employee Elizabeth Hampton told the court that white women “would get better and more attention.”

Gosnell’s clinic operated for nearly 20 years without being inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

It earned the nickname “House of Horrors” largely because of a 2011 grand jury report that described the office as a “baby charnel house.”

From the District Attorney’s office: “The clinic reeked of animal urine, courtesy of the cats that were allowed to roam (and defecate) freely. Furniture and blankets were stained with blood. Instruments were not properly sterilized. Disposable medical supplies were not disposed of; they were reused, over and over again. Medical equipment – such as the defibrillator, the EKG, the pulse oximeter, the blood pressure cuff – was generally broken; even when it worked, it wasn’t used. The emergency exit was padlocked shut. And scattered throughout, in cabinets, in the basement, in a freezer, in jars and bagsand plastic jugs, were fetal remains.”

Source: Buzzfeed

“We Have Not Committed Any Wrong To Deserve Amnesty”– Boko Haram

The leader of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram has rejected the idea of any potential amnesty deal, which the country’s presidency said it would study in a bid to curb a bloody insurgency, in a statement obtained by AFP Thursday.

Abubakar Shekau, the purported head of Boko Haram who has been designated a global terrorist by the United States, claimed his group had “not committed any wrong to deserve amnesty.”

“Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon,” he said, listing what he described as the state’s “atrocities” against Muslims.

The Hausa language audio recording was distributed by email in a manner consistent with previous Boko Haram messages, and the voice was similar to that of previous Shekau statements.

President Goodluck Jonathan last week formed a panel to look at the possibility of offering an amnesty deal to the Islamists, whose insurgency has left more than 3,000 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security services.

Jonathan has come under intense pressure over the issue, with politicians from the country’s violence-torn north as well as Nigeria’s highest Muslim spiritual figure, the Sultan of Sokoto, calling for amnesty.

The panel, reportedly to be composed of national security officials, northern leaders and others, is due to report later this month.

The move has been widely debated in Nigerian media in recent days.

Boko Haram has claimed to be fighting for an Islamic state in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer.

The group also claimed the February 19 kidnapping of a French family of seven over the border in Cameroon. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Boko Haram’s demands however have repeatedly shifted and the group is believed to include various factions in addition to imitators.

Nigeria offered an amnesty to militants in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region in 2009, which has been credited with greatly reducing unrest there, though oil theft has since flourished.

Violence blamed on Boko Haram has been concentrated in the mostly Muslim north.

Christian and Muslim civilians, the security services and other symbols of authority have been among the group’s victims.

Source: AFP

Photos: The First Gay African Traditional Wedding Ceremony.

The gay couple who tied the knot in a traditional Zulu and Tswana wedding while dressed in traditional attire say they will not be fazed by the criticism being aimed at them by social network users and Zulu culture experts.

Thoba Sithole, a Zulu from KwaDukuza, and Tshepo Modisane, a Tswana from Johannesburg, tied the knot on Saturday in KwaDukuza with about 200 people, including family, friends, onlookers and the media in attendance.

Sithole and Modisane, both 27, defended their wedding and said there was nothing evil or untraditional about it.

The Gay Couple Took a Kiss Professor Velaphi Mkhize, a Zulu traditional culture analyst and writer, said Zulu culture did not recognise homosexuality, therefore, traditionally, Modisane and Sithole’s marriage was void.

“In the olden days there were homosexuals, but when a gay child was born the family used to slaughter an animal to plead with the ancestors to intervene and take the evil spirit away from the child.”

“However, now the constitution recognises homosexuality and gay marriages and the biggest challenge we are facing is how do we continue to call something a taboo if it is recognised by the constitution.”

He said the marriage was an insult to Zulu forefathers because marriage was traditionally a way to expand the family. Wives were expected to give birth to children who would carry their families’ names forward. Homosexuality made this impossible, said Mkhize.

However, Sithole, an IT specialist based in Johannesburg, said:

“If being gay is evil, why did God create gay people? Gays are born gay and according to a Bible scripture we were all created by God, so I don’t see anything evil about being born gay because it means that God wanted you to be gay.”

Modisane said they did not need to justify their wedding to the public because it was only between them, and to make them happy.

“We decided to have a traditional wedding because we firstly wanted to show people that being homosexual can be part of an African culture.

“Secondly, we wanted to celebrate the love we have for each other and show people that we don’t feel ashamed for the choices we have made in our lives,” said Modisane, who works as a chartered accountant in Johannesburg.

The couple said the support they had received from their families made it easier for them to tie the knot.

“My family has always been there for me and had always been there for me even in my previous homosexual relationships,” said Modisane.

Sithole said his mother had always told him how she was looking forward to seeing him getting married to his partner.

They started dating in 2011 after they had been friends for some time.

Modisane said he was attracted to Sithole because he was a well-grounded man who loved God and was someone who could bring stability in his life.

Sithole said their next step after the wedding was buying a home and starting their own family. “We are fully committed to each other and we believe children form an important foundation in bringing stability in one’s life,” he said. “We will be adopting two kids – a boy and a girl – to be part of our family.”

Source: naijaurban