Ronke Shonde, who was allegedly killed by her husband, Lekan Shonde, died from severe brain injury, a pathologist with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja told a Lagos State High Court on Tuesday.
Dr SS Soyele said a post-mortem conducted on Ronke’s corpse revealed that her brain was heavy, swollen and filled with water.
Mr Shonde, 51, allegedly beat his wife to death at their home in the Egbeda-Idimu area of Lagos State in 2016.
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, accused his wife of sleeping with another man.
He claimed that he only slapped the deceased during a disagreement on the night of her death.
While being led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Y.G. Oshoala, on Tuesday, Dr Soyele said it was unlikely that the deceased inflicted the injuries on herself because of the multiplicity of the wounds.
“A bruise was found on her left jaw. During an autopsy, it was also discovered that the deceased had black eyes (pupils) a tell-tale 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 said.
The pathologist added that he and his team had conducted over 1,000 autopsies.
He 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.
