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struggle which continued out in the open space outside the hut. The neighbours came to assist and in the middle of the confusion
the petitioner ran away from the scene. In the attack the
deceased's brother suffered lacerations on his forehead and
his neck..
6.
*
With the help of his neighbours, the deceased's brother removed the bed-boards of the bunk and gained access to his sister, who was already dead. There was a nylon cord wound round her neck, she was tied hand and foot and then fastened onto
the bed-frame with metal wires. She was also gagged with a piece
of cloth.
7.
The petitioner was arrested by the police when he returned to the hut the next morning.
MEDICAL EVIDENCE
8.
The pathologist found the cause of death to be asphyxia due to strangulation by ligature and was of the opinion that the strangulation was deliberate. He estimated that the deceased died between the hours of 9 a.m. and 12 noon on 28th
January 1981. There was a tight horizontal ligature mark encircling
the neck of the deceased at the level of the voice box and also
ante mortem ligature marks at both wrists as well as the lower
parts of both legs indicating that her hands and legs were
respectively bound together before death. There were also pressure marks around the region of her nose and mouth showing signs of gagging.
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