‘Slain banker sustained 76 stab wounds

RENOWNED pathologist, Prof. John Oladapo Obafunwa yesterday told a Lagos High
Court, Ikeja, presided by Justice Lateefat Okunnu, that about 76 stab wounds were
identified on the body of a former Skye Bank worker, Titilayo Omozoje, who was
allegedly murdered by her husband on June 24, 2011.
Obafunwa, a principal prosecution witness in the ongoing murder trial of a youth
pastor, Akolade Arowolo over the death of his wife, Omozoje in his testimony, stated
that during the autopsy, he discovered that the late banker had a minimum of 76
stab wounds inflicted on her by someone.
Led in evidence by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Olabisi
Ogungbesan, Obafunwa also testified that the stab wounds from her chest to her
abdomen were concentrated on the left side.
According to the pathologist, he conducted both external and internal examination of
the deceased’s body during autopsy on July 4 and noticed multiple stab wounds as
well as some incised wounds on her chest, arm and abdomen.
He further revealed that during the internal examination of the body, he found
various wounds consistent with injuries from a sharp weapon with a single edge
blade as well as a double-edged blade.
The wounds, he added, affected the left eye, right eye, upper chest area, right chest
and collarbone left armpit. It also included a 10x5cm rectangular area that has
multiple individual injuries on the left side of her chest and breast overlying the
heart.
Obafunwa, who supported his testimony with slides of pictures on a compact disc
relayed inside the court room, stated that the autopsy revealed a gaping wound,
which was revealed as a black hole in the chest region.
According to him, the chest wall was lost due to multiple stab wounds, there was a
damage to the diaphragm, left side of the liver, breast area and repeated stab
wounds to the lungs and injuries.
He further revealed that his forensic investigations showed that the injuries could
not have been self inflicted as the penetration was from the chest to the back and
there were stab wounds to the stomach wall.
“The final result of the autopsy is that the death was caused by multiple injuries in
the chest and abdomen due to multiple sharp and long force trauma”, he said.
He also identified an alleged weapon, which he confirmed was consistent with some
of the wounds on the deceased’s body.
Also on his examination of the defendant, Obafunwa stated that there were wounds
on his hand and abdomen and he also had a limping gait, which he admitted may be
because he jumped to the ground from the fourth floor.
He however added that the 12 injuries he examined were not penetrating but
superficial and two of them might fall into the category of defence wounds though
not all the injuries fall into the time frame the incident was said to have occurred as
they might have been on the body earlier.
In his reaction to the defence counsel, Olanrewaju Ajanaku, who alleged that the
pathologist was the one that inflicted the stab wounds on the deceased when the
corpse was in his custody, wondered how he could do that when he was not insane.
Further hearing on the matter has been adjourned till October 22, 2012, when
the prosecution is expected to take its last witness.: