A pathologist with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital , Ikeja , Dr S . S . Soyele, on Tuesday told a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja that Ronke Shonde , who was allegedly murdered by her husband , Lekan , died from severe brain injury .
Soyele said a postmortem conducted on Ronke’ s corpse revealed that her brain was heavy , swollen and filled with water .
PUNCH Metro had reported that 51 -year – old Lekan allegedly beat his wife to death at their home in the Egbeda -Idimu area of Lagos State .
He was alleged to have locked the door on the corpse and their two children before the incident was discovered by a housekeeper and later reported to the police .
The man , who surrendered himself to the police after days in hiding, claimed that he only slapped the deceased during a disagreement on the night of the incident .
He accused Ronke of sleeping with one Kayode , the general manager of a publishing company .
At the Tuesday proceedings , while being led in evidence by the state prosecutor , Y . G. Oshoala , the pathologist said it was unlikely that the deceased inflicted the injuries on herself because of the multiplicity of the wounds.
He said , “A bruise was found on her left jaw . During an autopsy , it was also discovered that the deceased had black eyes ( pupils ) a telltale sign of a brain injury .
“ We opened up the body and brought out all the organs . We also opened up the skull to bring out the brain . Blood collection was discovered in the skull , just beneath the skin .
“ The deceased ’ s uterus was also brought out and there was no sign of conception . We took samples from the brain in order to determine the cause of death which primarily was respiratory failure caused by trauma to the brain . ”
Soyele, who noted that he and his team had conducted over 1 , 000 autopsies , said Ronke’ s autopsy revealed that she had suffered past injuries to her brain .
“ We took samples from the brain and discovered old haemorrhage ( bleeding ) in the brain , which suggests past trauma , ” he added .
The matter was adjourned till October 24 for trial .
Source PUNCH .
