TESTIMONY by the forensic pathologist who examined the body of Janet Scott left those in the Durban High Court on Friday reeling as her injuries were described in graphic detail.

Scott, 54, was found dead in Shongweni on the morning of October 15, 2016 in the bed of her boyfriend, a former jockey, Graham Gregorowski.

Dr Sibusiso Ntsele, a specialist forensic pathologist, described Scott’s injuries as among the worst he had ever seen.

“I haven’t observed injuries of this sort on one person in my career,” he said.

“These injuries are so severe that even if only one group of them [injuries] were taken alone, they would be sufficient to cause death,” he said, adding that he could identify three possible mechanisms of death, namely, brain trauma, asphyxia or blood loss.

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Ntsele testified while being questioned by state prosecutor Adv Krishen Shah that Scott’s ribs were fractured on both sides of her body.

This, he said was ‘exceptionally uncommon’.

Her chest cavity had dropped of both sides, her fractured ribs had punctured the lungs and her sternum had also been fractured.

“This is a severe injury. The sternum is a very strong bone, there would have had to be great force to break that,” he told the court.

According to Ntsele, the injury is one that would be observed in a motor vehicle – one where the “occupant would have been flung out, or hit by another car.”

Cross examination

As part of her cross-examination, Adv Trisha Marisa Moonsamy, who is representing thw accused, read out a description she had been instructed to offer the court of the accused’s interaction with the deceased.

The tale of the night began with an account by the accused of how he pushed Scott away when she tried to get into the shower with him.

“The accused specifically instructs that as far as he can recall he also struck the deceased on the neck and cheek,” said Moonsamy, reading from her notes.

“He then closed the shower door and about 10 minutes later when he came out of the shower he saw the deceased lying on the passage floor. She was on her back with a towel partially covering her, and there was blood trickling out of her nose.”

The description included details of how the accused tried to rouse her, and then tried to revive her, eventually performing CPR before deciding to move her into the bedroom.

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The statement covered the time from when the accused said he had gone into the shower and ended with a description of him getting her to the bed and covering her with a blanket before trying to hang himself.

“He told me that he slipped and the deceased’s head fell onto the passage floor,” said his advocate.

“He then tried to pull her towards the bedroom by putting his arms under her back and joining his hands over the chest area,” continued Moonsamy, adding that he indicated to her that it took several attempts before he finally managed to get her into the bedroom.

“He tried to resuscitate her by first blowing air into her mouth and thereafter by compressions on her chest with both hands. He instructs me that blood sprayed out of her nose onto him. Her tongue had rolled back into her throat and he tried to pull it forward,” said Moonsamy.

“He then noticed the deceased’s face turn blue and start to swell up. He finally managed to put her on the bed and he covered her with a blanket, after which he tried to hang himself,” she finished.

Injuries due to CPR?

Moonsamy asked if it were possible that the injuries to the ribs had occurred due to the accused trying to save the woman’s life.

“Is it not possible that an untrained person such as the accused performing CPR with too much force could have caused the injuries you describe?” she asked.

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“It still remains difficult to explain the entire cage of ribs on both sides being broken as a result of the actions taken in this narrative,” said the doctor adding that in his opinion the narrative didn’t fit his findings of what had taken place.

“In this narrative the deceased was found unresponsive and after trying to get her to respond, and seeing she was not breathing, she is likely to have already passed on before the CPR would have started,” he said.

“The fracture of the sternum occurred while she was still alive. If she had already passed on it would be difficult to account for the injuries I saw.”

A lot of pain

A moment that stood out in today’s session was how the doctor described the injuries and what they might have suggested the last moments of the woman’s life were like.

“The multiplicity of injuries sustained suggest the deceased would have sustained a lot of pain.”

Asked specifically by the judge from the bench if the fractured ribs could have been caused by kicking or stomping, the doctor said he felt they could have been.

“Yes, m’lord. If I were to draw the courts attention to photo number 20 and describe the semi-circular imprint abrasions it shows. We refer to it as horseshoe abrasions and it is usually noticed when a person is kicked or stomped upon. The circular shape comes from the heel,” he said, “It may very well not be the heel of a shoe but the actual heel of a bare foot.”

The case continues on Monday, 16 March.

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