Isoof at the Lautoka High Court today.

The family of five whose bodies were found in the Nausori Highlands two years ago, died from a poisonous substance.

This was revealed by Pathologist Doctor James Kalougivaki who took the stand sharing his findings of the autopsy report at the Lautoka High Court this afternoon.

Dr Kalougivaki who is the 47th prosecution witness said based on his report, the poisonous substance was from a pesticide.

He said all the victims had similar findings, the inner walls of their stomachs were eroded or worn out, there were bleeding and a yellowish fluid was also found.

The Pathologist also stated that the intestine of the five bodies were bleeding and also contained a yellowish fluid.

A toxicology analysis was also done which noted a positive presence of a pesticide in their bodies.

Dr Kalougivaki told the court that after the post mortem, he concluded that the cause of death for the family was due to the fullness of fluid within the lungs (difficulty in breathing) caused by the presence of a pesticide substance and the quickness of death was due to the blockage of the heart.

He was then asked whether he knew how quickly the victims died from the pesticide substance. The doctor responded that it would be difficult to tell because they do not know the volume of pesticide that was ingested, however, they could have died within hours.

During the cross examination, Dr Kalougivaki was asked whether there will be injuries on the lips and mouth if someone consumed a pesticide substance, he replied none were noted on the victims.

He further explained that pesticides would not leave a mark on the mouth or lips but a herbicide like paraquat would leave visible injuries.

The defence then asked the Pathologist if this meant the pesticide was not consumed through the mouth.

Dr Kalougivaki said that it doesn’t mean it wasn’t taken through the mouth if there were no visible injuries.

He was quizzed by defence if he had taken notes during his post mortem examination.

The Pathologist told the court that it was impossible to record notes and conduct the examination as he would have to remove his personal protective equipment for every new entry for the report.

He said that he would then have to wear a new set of PPE’s to continue his examination.

Dr Kalougivaki said his findings were all noted in the Investigating Officer’s autopsy forms that were typed afterwards.

He was then asked whether he could tell what time the family had passed away.

Dr Kalougivaki said as per his report from the witness, the time of the death was when the family was found which is 11.40 am on the 26th of August 2019.

The witness was then asked whether he could tell the time of the death through the scientific examination.

Dr Kalougivaki said the deceased persons were of fresh bodies and highly likely they died within 24 hours of when they were found.

It is alleged that in August 2019, Mohammad Isoof murdered three adults and two children and attempted to murder an 11-month old by abandoning her at Nausori Highlands, Nadi.

The bodies of a 63-year-old carpenter, Nirmal Kumar, his 54-year-old wife, Usha Devi, their 34-year-old daughter, Nileshni Kajal and her two daughters Sana aged 11, and Samara, 8 were all found near a cliff.

Isoof is charged with five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The trial will continue tomorrow.