Day three of murder trial: Doctor says injury of deceased caused by heavy sharp object

When the murder trial of Dorian Dailey got underway at the High Court for the third day, it was the opinion of medical practitioner Dr. Nebiyu Bekele that the injuries sustained by the deceased man Maurice Murray Dailey were caused by a sharp heavy object.

Dorian is accused of killing his father by allegedly inflicting multiple injuries to his head and neck on January 9, 2017. The 62-year-old later succumbed to his injuries on February 21, 2017, at the then-PMH.

Inspector of Police Fixton Henderson was the first of the prosecution witnesses on day three but the fifth witness for the trial so far. Henderson who is attached to the Scenes of Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is deemed an expert in crime scene photography.

He stated, Monday, January 9, 2017, sometime in the morning he was on duty at the Scenes of Crime Unit when he had a conversation with Corporal Jerry Frank who is stationed at Laplaine Police Station.

Thereafter, he collected his photography equipment and proceeded to Grand Fond. On arrival at 3:00 p.m., he met and had a conversation with Corporal Frank at the basketball court and also met the accused sitting in the police vehicle.

After introducing himself to Dailey, he along with Corporal Frank and another officer escorted him from the basketball court in a western direction towards a footpath to the ruins of an unpainted concrete building.

“As I walked through the footpath, I noticed a pair of white slippers and a pair of blue jeans pants…which was soiled with a reddish substance which appeared to be blood.”

He further testified, along his journey on the said footpath he saw a pair of grey short pants on the ground which also appeared to have blood on them.

The police Inspector also told of his sighting of a left side of a blue and black slipper on the ground. He said some hair was also found in a sneaker that was on the scene.

In Henderson’s continued examination of the location, he noticed a white long-sleeve t-shirt within the ruins of the concrete building which was completely soiled with blood. Another discovery made was the right side of a blue and black slipper on the top of a flight of stairs on the northern side of the building, which also appeared to be soiled with blood.

The witness stated, after marking and photographing the scene, all items found were handed to Corporal Frank.
Upon his return to the Scenes of Crime Unit at the Police Headquarters, the photos taken were downloaded to a secure computer.

On Thursday, March 9, 2017, he said, he proceeded on duty at the government mortuary at the then Princess Margaret Hospital where an autopsy was performed on the body of the deceased man and photos were taken during the process.

These photos were also added to the secure folder on the computer. Following his testimony, the photographic evidence was shown to the court.

The defense counsel Darius Jones who is assisted by attorney-at-law Peter Alleyne had no cross-examination for the witness.

The prosecution’s sixth witness for the trial, general medical practitioner Dr. Bekele, stated in his evidence that on January 9, 2017, he was on duty at Laplaine Health Center when he medically examined Maurice Murry Dailey.

According to him, the patient was semi-conscious with low blood pressure, disoriented, and had multiple head injuries.
Following the examination and treatment the doctor stated, he compiled a report from his notes which was tendered into evidence.

His observation was that the frontal aspect of Maurice’s head had a deep 14 cm laceration with visible fracture. The right side of the head temporal region had a laceration of 20 cm with signs of fracture. There was a facial laceration of 7 cm to the left side and Maurice’s right eyelid had a massive hematoma. In the opinion of the medical expert, the deceased man’s injuries were likely caused by a sharp object with high velocity.

Due to the severity of the injuries sustained to Maurice’s vital organs, as well as his low blood pressure and instability, Dr Bekele testified that the patient required secondary medical attention as his injuries were life-threatening.

He was then referred to the Alford ward of the PMH. The doctor further noted that the low blood pressure of Maurice was indicative of substantial blood loss. Under cross-examination by the defense, he told the court that due to his disoriented state, Maurice was unable to speak when he first arrived at the health center but following the examination, he was able to.

The trial which commenced on May 15, 2023, is being tried by a nine-member jury consisting of eight women and one man and presided over by Justice Thomas Astaphan.

Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Sherma Dalrymple is leading the State’s case assisted by attorney-at-law Marie Louise Pierre-Louis.