The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

“DO YOU agree that I looked like a teddy bear when you saw me?” was the question a man accused of rape asked a physician in Supreme Court yesterday concerning a medical examination he performed on him.

Dr Devon Kerr was called to the stand yesterday as the Crown’s last witness in the case against 30-year-old Oscar Ingraham who faces charges of burglary, armed robbery and rape in an incident that occurred between 11pm on May 29, 2012, and 5am the next day.

It is alleged that he broke into the woman’s western New Providence home and robbed her of $165 cash and a $200 Nokia cell phone before sexually assaulting her with a gun to her head.

Ingraham has denied the charges, against which he opted to defend himself.

Darell Taylor and Raquel Whyms are prosecuting for the Crown. They intend to prove the charges through DNA evidence.

Last week, a forensic analyst gave evidence that there was a mix profile on the panty cutting she received to examine where the major DNA contributor belonged to that of the complainant in the case and the minor contributor “was consistent” to the reference sample of Oscar Ingraham she had previously received for profiling.

However, Roe said that the minor contributor she found from the tests she conducted were not sufficient to obtain a full DNA profile.

In cross-examination, Ingraham asked the analyst if, during her testimony, she was referring to him or the name on the label alleging to be the blood of said person.

She replied that it was the name on the label of the items sent to her.

He asked if she could say that it was his blood she examined. The analyst replied the name was on the label, but she could not say whose blood it was because she was not present for the extraction.

When asked if his blood sample had been one of the items she received in July 2012, she said no. “Not in this case number,” she added.

Yesterday, Dr Kerr, when briefly examined by prosecutor Darell Taylor, said he had seen and examined the accused on June 29, 2012 where Ingraham had made certain complaints.

“Did you have occasion to draw blood from Mr Ingraham,” the prosecutor asked.

The Princess Margaret Hospital trauma specialist said he did, adding that this was done to check for infections and other standard tests.

In cross-examination, Ingraham asked the physician how he came to examine him on June 29. Dr Kerr answered that he was the shift leader that night when Ingraham was brought in by police.

“Any person that comes in via police custody comes through the shift leader,” the physician added.

The accused asked Dr Kerr if he had taken any notes on the days that he examined him. The physician said he did and referred to a medical file where he noted that Ingraham had complained of pain in the forehead, difficulty hearing, and pain in both sides of his rib cage.

“What were your findings?” Ingraham asked. Dr Kerr said based on the notes he found that there was swelling between the eyebrows and over both cheekbones and there was also a rupture of the eardrums.

Dr Kerr, when asked, said the injuries were “indicators of trauma to the body”.

“Do you agree that I looked like a teddy bear when you saw me?” the accused asked.

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at?” the physician answered.

“You saw how big my cheeks were?” the accused rephrased.

“That would not be the way we’d describe it,” Dr Kerr said, adding that injuries aren’t quantified, but only noted as “swelled” or otherwise.

The accused asked if the officer had noted from him, at the time, how the injuries came to be and the physician said that Ingraham had complained to him of being beaten by police.

“Do you remember the name of the officers who brought me to the hospital?” the accused asked.” The physician could not recall as he did not write the names down.

In re-examination by the prosecution, Darell Taylor suggested to the witness that he could only note the things Ingraham said to him when he made the complaints.

Dr Kerr agreed with the suggestion. He was asked if Dr Ricardo Davis was on duty that evening. The physician said his colleague was not, but he was not completely sure of this.

The trial resumes today before Justice Carolita Bethell.