BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - HER tears were enough to cause the Court to rise for sometime and allow her to regain her composure. Josephine Zakers, mother of deceased Gregory Anthony Zakers, broke down while testifying yesterday morning (Mar. 11) at her son's murder trial.
Josephine was the first of the handful of individuals who would be giving evidence on behalf of the prosecution as it tries to prove that Nelson Challenger, Shenroy Francis, Jomi Rawlins, Glenroy Smithen and Moses Gardener killed Gregory sometime between April 10 and 12, 2008.
Josephine, in her testimony, told the Court that she last saw her son on April 10, 2008. She said he left home at around 5:45 p.m. and did not return home.
Around 1:00 a.m. Friday morning (Apr. 11, 2008), she stated that she called a number of persons inquiring about his whereabouts, adding that as a result of a conversation with one individual, she called the police station and spoke to an officer.
The mother said she journeyed to the St. Pauls Police Station and afterwards to someone's house but did not find Gregory.
She told the Court she, with the assistance of her daughter and niece, went searching for Gregory but was unsuccessful in locating him.
Josephine testified that she received a call from an Officer Morton on April 12, 2008 and as a result of the conversation, she went to the Jenkins Funeral Home where she was asked to identify a body.
She expressed, through tears, that she was unable to recognise the face of the body because of the condition it was in, but identified her son based on the shirt, belt and trousers he wore the last time she has seen him.
The face was cut but, "it was my son, Gregory", she said.
During cross-examination, it was revealed that someone who bears the alias 'Mac 11' was also present at the Funeral Home when she went to identify the body.
Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Stephen Jones, who performed the postmortem on Gregory's remains, also gave evidence for the prosecution.
He told the Court that Gregory's body showed signs of decomposition which included skin stripping and bloating of the abdomen and face.
He said the body was "severely decayed" and had maggot infestation as well as ants eating or nibbling on the feet.
Regarding the injuries, the Doctor testified that on the right arm and shoulder area were laceration-incision-type wounds that were gaped and were of different sizes.
He also explained that there was a cluster of four laceration/incision-type wounds on the lower right abdomen, adding that there were back injuries that might have been postmortem.
Dr. Jones told the Court that the most significant injuries were those to the deceased's head, noting that there were cuts on both sides of the head which extended behind the ears.
He said there were fractured bones in the scalp. In his explanation of this, he said the bones were broken into pieces.
He stated that the brain was decomposing and had contusion, which meant there were damages to the surface of the brain with bleeding inside.
Other injuries were rib fractures and a ruptured liver which, he said, happened after Gregory had passed.
Death, he concluded, was as a result of "severe traumatic head injury" caused by severe blunt force.
During cross-examination, Dr. Jones was asked if someone who sustained that type of head injury could survive and he replied in the negative.
He was also asked if the head injury could have been sustained postmortem but Dr. Jones stated that, in his opinion, it was not.
"If a dead body is thrown over a cliff and lands on its head, could it cause the type of injury?" the Doctor was asked.
He replied in the positive and added that there was evidence to show that it was done prior to Gregory’s death. as there was bleeding in the brain and haemorrhage.
His Lordship Justice Darshan Ramdhani asked the Doctor if he could tell where the impact was that caused the head injury. Dr. Jones said he could not ascertain because of the bloating of the body and other postmortem changes.
The accused men are all being represented by different attorneys. Challenger is being represented by Hon. Robelto Hector, Francis by Fitzroy Eddy, Rawlins by John Cato, Smithen by Natasha Grey and Gardener is being represented by Chesley Hamilton.
Leading the prosecution team is Director of Public Prosecutions Travers Sinanan with the assistance of O'Neil Simpson.
The case continues today at the Basseterre High Court of Justice.
