In his testimony before Hon. Justice Sam Margai of the High Court of Sierra Leone, on Tuesday 16 January 2018, the witness informed the well attended court that according to his professional and expert opinion, the cause of death of the fifty eight years old Pharmacist Adeyemi Patrick Johnson was not only unnatural, but also asphyxia due to manual and ligature strangulation, coupled with spinal cord injury, massive intra-cerebral hemorrhage and ruptured liver.
Dr. further intimated that during his autopsy extermination, he observed that the deceased sustained multiple fractures of skull, facial bones, chest, hyoid and cricoid thyroid cartilage, due to blunt force injury of the head, neck, face, abdomen and upper extremities.
The head of Histopathology and Morbid Anatomy Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma also testified that following the brutal murder of the Adeyemi Patrick Justin Johnson on 12 November 2012, at his 65B Old Railway Line residence in Freetown, his remains was identified to him by Ralph Johnson, the elder brother to the deceased, the Investigating Officer, DPC7667 Sesay I S, the scene of crime officer, and DPC 11433 Bangura S. S.
Responding to cross exterminating by the defense Lawyer, F B Conteh the witness stated that when he and the investigating officer visited the scene of crime, he met the deceased corpse lying across his bed with face down wards in his bedroom, who appeared to have been physically assaulted and mouth gagged with industrial plaster strips, before he was conveyed to the Connaught Hospital Mortuary for autopsy extermination.
Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma explained that he also observed the use of an electric cord on the deceased neck, thus strangulating him to death, even though he did not observed any stabbed wound on the deceased body, adding he saw a gallon of petrol and smell of fumes in the deceased bedroom and mouth also plastered with clothing.
He further responded that Adeyemi Patrick Justin Johnson was assaulted by people, but his body parts were not removed, and that many of the injuries inflicted on the Adeyemi Patrick Johnson led to his untimely demise.
Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma concluded that the deceased was a fair complexion man and did not die from any fumes and the manner in which he was murdered, could have either been accidental, neither suicidal nor homicidal.
Alakeh Olive Johnson, her son Omar Eustace Masjid Cole and six accused persons are facing multiple charges raining from Conspiracy to commit a crime to wit murder, Arson and robbery with aggravation, contrary to the Criminal Procedure Act of the country’s law books.
The particulars of the offence allegedly committed by the accused persons indicated that all accused persons in the dock conspired with unknown individuals to murder Pharmacist Adeyemi Patrick Justin Johnson on 12 November 2012, at his 65B Old Railway Line residence at Wilberforce in Freetown.
Justice Sam Margai adjourned the matter to Tuesday 30 January 2018.