GOVERNMENT Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, on Wednesday testified that he had performed the post- mortem on the body of Melissa Payne, who was shot and killed on November 15, 2008 at Agricola Public Road.

Dr Singh, who took the stand in the Georgetown High Court before Justice James Bovell-Drakes and a 12-member jury, gave the cause of death as perforation of the lungs and artery due to a gunshot wound. The post-mortem report was then marked, tendered and admitted as evidence in the trial after Dr. Singh was deemed an expert in pathology.

Upon examination of the body, Dr. Singh told the court that he observed a circular wound on the right side armpit and during dissection, he observed that the bullet had entered the chest cavity, pierced the artery which caused the lungs to collapse, and also fractured the sixth rib, after which it was lodged in the left shoulder.

Dr. Singh testified that he extracted the bullet and lodged same with the police and also noted that there were no soot or residue on the body, which means the shooter had to be standing about three to five feet away from the victim. He said that for Payne to be shot in the armpit, she would have had to have her hand up in defence and the gunshot wound caused massive internal bleeding.

During cross examination, defence attorney Maxwell McKay asked Dr. Singh whether the bullet was slightly damaged upon impact into Melissa Payne’s body and he replied in the affirmative.
However, a voir dire was called to determine the admissibility of evidence in the trial on Wednesday. It is alleged that on November 5, 2008 at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, Jermaine Savory murdered Melissa Payne at Agricola Public Road.

According to reports, Payne was killed after she attempted to put up a fight with gunmen who attacked her and a male friend at Agricola Public Road, at about 08:30hrs on November 5, 2008.
The gunmen escaped with some $110,000 in cash that was in the woman’s bag, along with her jewellery. At the time of the robbery, she was in the company of a male friend, David Fraser, as they were heading to Georgetown to conduct business.

It is reported that as they approached Agricola, the Canter truck they were in encountered mechanical problems. Fraser came out and tried to fix the truck, as Payne stood and watched him. A few moments later, a man came up to them with a gun and demanded their money.

The armed man snatched Fraser’s gold chain and attempted to pull away Payne’s handbag. She attempted to turn back and go to the truck, but was stopped in her tracks by the other bandit, who demanded the bag from Payne but the woman resisted and the armed man shot and killed her. In November 2008, Jermaine Savory of 97 Second Street, Agricola, was charged with the murder of Payne. Savory reportedly confessed to sleuths that he had participated in the robbery but was not the trigger man.