Witness denies plot to frame accused

STATE WITNESS Sgt Anthony Lezama yesterday denied putting the blood of a murder victim on the blue short pants which the man, charged with the murder, was reportedly wearing on the day of the murder. Lezama’s denial arose out of suggestions by defence attorney, Odai Ramischand, that the officer had contaminated the pants with the blood. Lezama was being cross-examined by Ramischand in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court. Ronald Tiwarie, is before Justice Rajendra Narine charged with the March 8, 2001 murder of his sister-in-law, Polly Ramnarine. Ramnarine’s daughter Meena, who was nine years old at the time, reportedly witnessed Tiwarie’s attack on her mother moments before Ramnarine was found lying face down in the Blue Basin River in Diego Martin.

Lezama, who had witnessed the post-mortem by pathologist Dr Hughvon des Vignes on Ramnarine’s body at the Forensic Science Centre on March 9, admitted to having the short pants in his possession in the mortuary while the post-mortem was being conducted. However, he said it had been sealed in a white plastic bag and could not have been contaminated. After witnessing the post-mortem, Lezama said, des Vignes gave him samples of the victim’s blood in sealed plastic containers. He said he immediately gave the samples and the short pants to scientific officer Emmanuel Walker for analysis. Walker, the officer said, was in the reception area of the Forensic Science Centre at the time. Ramischand put to the witness he was not telling the truth, and insisted that the officer had given the samples and pants to a female receptionist. “I gave the blood samples and short pants to Mr Emmanuel Walker,” Lezama maintained.

The certificate of analysis on the short pants, which was on Thursday admitted into evidence through des Vignes, revealed that the blood found on the pants was similar to Ramnarine’s blood type. On Thursday, des Vignes said he had found a combination of gravel and mucus in the lungs of the deceased during the post-mortem. This combination, he said, indicated she had been “strenuously” inhaling while her face had been “forcibly” held against a gravel surface while submerged. Under cross-examination by Ramischand, the pathologist said this combination could not have been found in the victim’s lungs if she had fallen and had been knocked unconscious, because she would have been breathing “passively.” When the hearing resumes on Monday, Lezama will again be cross-examined by Ramischand.