Forensic experts who had examined Kevin P. Joseph’s body deposed before the Principal Sessions Court here on Monday that the youth’s death, in all likelihood, was a case of homicidal drowning.
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V.M. Rajeev and Santhosh Joy, additional and assistant professors of Forensic Medicine respectively at the Government Medical College, Kottayam, also testified that there were no serious injuries on the youth’s body though his chest cavities contained blood-stained fluid. While the right side of the cavity contained about 170 ml of fluid, the left side had about 150 ml.
The presence of such a huge quantity of fluid points to the fact that Kevin was conscious and active while a struggle had taken place at the time of his immersion in water.
The court also examined K. Sasikala, Head of Forensic Medicine at the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, who had led a team that inspected the crime scene on June 29 last year. In her statement, she ruled out the possibility of a direct fall into the stream, considering the presence of a sloppy, rocky land leading to the stream. Considering that the water level in the stream, while recovering the body, was only waist-deep, she ruled out the possibility of both accidental and suicidal drownings.
A video footage on the recovery of Kevin’s body was played in the court, which showed that the water level was waist-deep. Further, a video of the place where the body was found was exhibited at the court.
While deposing before the court, Kevin’s father Joseph had said that Kevin was an expert swimmer and a healthy person.
During the day, the court also examined a scientific officer of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Thiruvananthapuram. The court will examine another scientific officer with the FSL and a couple of police officers on Tuesday.
As per the prosecution’s case, a gang led by Shyanu Chacko abducted Kevin from his relative’s residence at Mannanam on May 28, 2018 and chased him to a stream at Chaliyakkara with the intention of killing him.
