THE judge and jury in the case of the murdered tattooed woman, Maryann Sunita Nauth, were told that she had 35 incised wounds about her body and that she had died of shock and haemorrhage.Nauth’s body was found in a hotel room in 2013.

Expert in the field of pathology, Dr. Nehaul Singh, who had performed the post-mortem on May 15, 2013, told this to Presiding Judge Franklyn Holder and the jury at the Demerara Assizes on Friday.
According to the doctor, the heart was punctured and the lungs had collapsed.
Dr. Singh, who claimed that he has done more than 20,000 post-mortems, disclosed that upon external examination of the body he had found over 35 incised wounds: on the neck, forearm, armpit, abdomen, left wrist, 14 incised wounds to the left side of the chest and two incised wounds to the heart.
On being shown a kitchen knife looking like a dagger, the doctor told the prosecutrix that the particular exhibit of the court was capable of inflicting the injuries found on the body of the woman.
In answer to veteran counsel for the defence, Mr. Compton Richardson, witness said that it was possible that the wounds could have been inflicted by a male or female.
Following the discovery of the woman’s body in room No. 209 of the K & V C hotel on May 12, police investigations led to the arrest of the woman’s husband, Vinod Balgobin and him being charged with her murder.
In a caution statement to the police, Balgobin is alleged to have confessed to the crime and is recorded as saying that having some drinks that day, he took his estranged wife to the hotel and paid $3,000. for the room.
But according to him, all went well until she had stripped and he observed that she was carrying a tattoo across the abdomen. That he said led to an argument between them after he accused her of giving him “blow.” He got vexed and “jooked” her up with his knife, he allegedly told the police.
This story, his lawyer said, had been fabricated by the police.
On the resumption yesterday, Police Photographer PC17860 Maxwell Grant was cross-examined by defence counsel Mr. Richardson.
Grant admitted that he saw a photograph near the body on the bed. But he said that it did not occur to him that he should have taken that photograph to be analysed for fingerprints.
The prosecution closed its case following completion of the doctor’s evidence and after testimonies from 18 witnesses.
The defence will begin on Monday.

(By George Barclay)