London: The Indian-origin woman killed
while on a honey-moon in South Africa was executed in cold
blood and had not been sexually assaulted, a leaked medical
report suggests.
A document written by a paramedic who attended the
scene states that Anni Dewani, 28, was killed after sustaining
wounds to her neck and back.
Engineering graduate Anni was found dead hours after
the honeymoon couple`s taxi was held up by women in the
Gugulethu township near Cape Town.
The driver was later charged with murder, leading to
suspicions that the attack may have been planned.
Sources involved in the case had earlier suggested
Swedish-born Anni could have been sexually assaulted, a claim
repeatedly denied by South African police until now.
This appears to contradict the alleged findings of an
investigation by a ballistics expert apparently commissioned
by the legal team representing her husband Shrien, the Daily
Mail reported.
This apparently found that she had been shot through
the hand. Victims who suffer hand wounds have often been shot
unintentionally during a struggle.
The document, officially known in South Africa as a
Declaration of Death, was compiled by a paramedic at 7.59am on
November 14, just an hour-and-a-half after police found the
body of Anni.
Under the section `description of incident` it states
that Anni was discovered `lying on her back and side. Wound to
neck and wounds to medial scapula in the middle of her back`,
the report said.
At the bottom of the document it states: `Unable to
determine if wound in neck is gunshot wound.`
The report makes no mention of injuries to Anni`s
hands.
A medical officer who attended the scene said: "I
didn`t see any wounds on her hands. I didn`t examine them but
I`m sure if she was shot I would have noticed blood coming
from her hands.
"The only wounds I noticed were the bullet wounds in
her neck and two or three stab wounds on her back from a knife
with a blade half-an-inch long.
"Her clothes were intact. There was no sign that there
had been an attempted sexual attack or fighting. Her clothes
were neat like when you lay a baby down and pull her clothes
nicely. There was no evidence of a struggle."
She looked like someone who had maybe passed out after
drinking or had been sedated. I got the definite impression
that she was executed."
PTI
