Pathologist still traumatised by Sean Luke autopsy
by
Derek Achong
Even after 15 years and hundreds of autopsies, forensic pathologist Dr Eslyn McDonald-Burris is still traumatised by her work in the murder case of six-year-old Sean Luke.
McDonald-Burris made the admission yesterday, as she took the witness stand in the virtual judge-alone trial of Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo, who are accused of committing the crime as teenagers.
Responding to whether she had seen media reports on the start of the case, McDonald-Burris said: “To be honest with you, I got depressed as I had to live it all over again as a pathologist.”
Pathologist still traumatised by
cnc3.co.tt - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnc3.co.tt Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sean Luke, 6, was murdered in 2006.
FORENSIC pathologist Dr Easlyn McDonald-Burris on Monday provided harrowing details of the injuries that contributed to the brutal death of six-year-old Sean Luke.
She admitted the boy’s autopsy traumatised her, and, 15 years and hundreds of autopsies later, still had an effect on her.
Mc Donald-Burris spent all of Monday testifying at the trial of the two men – Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo – charged with Luke’s murder sometime between March 25 and 29, 2006.
Luke was sodomised with a sugar cane stalk that ruptured his intestines and internal organs. He died from internal bleeding.
McDonald-Burris’s official conclusion on the cause of death was “internal chest and abdominal injuries and hemorrhage due to a foreign object – a cane stalk – introduced into the body cavity.”
Pathologist to testify next at Sean Luke trial
Sean Luke -
ON MONDAY, the pathologist who did the autopsy on the body of six-year-old Sean Luke, days after his body was found in a cane field near his Orange Valley home, is expected to give evidence at the trial of the two men charged with the boy’s murder.
On Friday, the defence completed its interrogation of the State’s last civilian witnesses in the case. As a result, the temporary gag on reporting the two witnesses’ evidence was lifted.
Last Wednesday, Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds imposed a temporary gag restricting reporting of any part of the evidence of Avinash Baboolal and Arvis Pradeep – two of the State’s main witnesses against Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo.
Sean Luke trial: Witness No 17 grilled by defence
Sean Luke -
THE Sean Luke murder trial continued on Wednesday with the cross-examination of one of the State’s main witnesses, Arvis Pradeep.
Pradeep is the 17th witness to give evidence, either orally or through written statements, at the trial of Akeel Mitchell and Richard Chatoo.
The two are charged with Luke’s murder on a date unknown sometime between March 25 and 29, 2006, at Orange Valley, Couva.
Both men opted for a judge-only trial, which is being presided over by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds.
The trial is being held virtually for the most part, although witnesses are giving evidence from one of the 23 virtual access customer centres, since court buildings are off-limits to the public, except by appointment, because of the rise in covid19 cases.
vimarsana © 2020. All Rights Reserved.