THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The prosecution suffered a major setback during the trial in the alleged rape and murder of a Latvian woman when the witness who conducted chemical examination of the body said drowning could not be ruled out and that no trace of sperm was found in the body.
The prosecution’s case is that two youths from Panathura lured the woman from Kovalam beach, raped her and murdered her in 2018. Her headless body was found days after she was reported missing from a wellness centre near Pothencode here. However, assistant chemical examiner Ashok Kumar P G of Chief Examiners Laboratory, who examined the samples collected from the body and prepared the chemical examination report, said identical microorganisms were found in the body and the water sample produced by the prosecution which meant drowning could not be ruled out.
“The diatoms found in the body matched those found in the water sample produced by the prosecution. In drowning, such a similarity is noticed. So, chances of the Latvian’s death being due to drowning cannot be ruled out,” he said.
Prosecution seeks to term witness hostile
Ashok also said traces of sperm can be detected in dead bodies for up to a year. However, in the Latvian’s case, no trace of sperm of the accused persons was found in the woman’s body, said Ashok, adding that he had given the same statement to investigating officers as well. Following Ashok’s testimony, the prosecution requested that the court declare him hostile. Ashok was the prosecution’s 15th witness.
Earlier, the autorickshaw driver who dropped her on the beach had testified about ferrying her to Kovalam. The police that investigated the 33-year-old woman’s disappearance had concluded that she was raped and murdered by the duo who were drug peddlers.