A mother-of-one died of a 14cm “single swipe” incised knife cut to her neck which caused the 38-year-old to not only lose massive amounts of blood but also to “inhale and swallow” the blood from her injury, a murder trial has heard.
Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan told a sitting of Cork Central Criminal Court that Deepa Dinamani, a 38-year-old from Kerala in India, would have been unable to speak once the wound was inflicted.
Dr Mulligan carried out the postmortem examination on the remains of the deceased on July 15th, 2023, the day after Deepa was found dead in a blood-soaked bed at Cardinal Court in Wilton in Cork city.
Her husband Regin Parithapara Rajan (43) is on trial charged with the murder of his wife at the home they had moved in to in March of 2023. The couple had left India with their young son so that Deepa, who was a chartered accountant, could take up a job opportunity in Cork.
Dr Mulligan told the jury of seven women and five men that an incised wound measuring 14cm in length was recorded on the neck of Ms Dinamani. She said that the wound severed the large strap muscle of the neck. It also severed the thyroid artery and exposed the windpipe.
Dr Mulligan said that there was evidence of aspirated blood in the lungs.
“She (Deepa) would have been breathing in blood. There was blood stained fluid in her airways and windpipe. Her stomach filled with altered blots and clots. She inhaled and swallowed blood.”
Dr Mulligan had requested that she have sight of the knife which was recovered from the property where Deepa was found dead. She noted that blood and tissue was on the blade of a knife recovered from the scene.
The Go Cook steel knife was 132cm in length with the blade measuring 20cm in length with a width of 2.5cm.
Dr Mulligan said that Deepa had suffered an incised wound measuring 6.8cm in length on her left forearm in addition to some bruising on her body.
She said that the wound to the neck seemed to have been carried out “in a single swipe” or movement. Dr Mulligan said the injuries could have been caused by the knife shown to her or by a similar weapon.
Meanwhile, Dr Mulligan told jurors that photographs from the scene indicated sthat Deepa was found lying on her back in a bed at her family home.
Dr Mulligan said that there was “significant blood stains on the bed and pillows” and a “dynamic blood spray” in the room. She noted that two blood stained teddy bears were found in the area where Deepa was located.
Meanwhile, the trial also heard evidence from Det Garda Kenneth Lawton who gave the accused a legal caution at the scene in Cardinal Court in Wilton on July 14th, 2023. He also asked the accused man what had happened at the property.
Det Garda Lawton noted the reply from Mr Rajan:
“She (Deepa) was cheating on me. She was having an affair and he lives in London. I just found out today. I saw the messages that were on her phone (details of passwords) and I could not tolerate it. It was very ugly messages.
“I just stabbed her with a knife in the throat, she was cheating on me, I could not tolerate that. I will take any sentence. I committed a crime. I could not take this. She was the love of my life.
“And this is the second time, sorry to say. I was in depression and family life was not good. I lost 15 kgs in the last two months.
“It was good until two months ago. When I knew she was chatting with someone, that is when I became depression.
“I did not do it deliberately. After seeing those messages I did that, sorry to say.”
The trial also heard evidence from Keith Whitney, Director of Funds at Alter Domus Funds Service in Cork. Deepa had worked for the company in the months before her death.
He said that Deepa was offered a senior manager position and she took up employment in April 2023. Mr Whitney said that Deepa was “very professional and easy to work with.”
He stated that she had settled in well with her team but that he was aware that she was going through personal issues relating to her marriage.
AJ Raj who lived in the same area as Regin and Deepa said that he got to know the accused when he moved to Cork. He said that he used to go jogging with Mr Rajan who told him that his marriage was not a happy one.
At one stage Raj said that the accused came to his house crying and was clearly troubled because of the breakdown in his relationship. The trial will continue on Friday.
