Durban: Megan Doorasamy, the man accused of killing his wife by giving her a poisonous cocktail of anti-freeze and cranberry juice, is looking forward to his newfound freedom.
The 31-year-old former truck driver was acquitted of all charges in the Durban High Court on Thursday, following a Section 174 application by his defence counsel, advocate Gugu Gumede and instructing attorney Oscar Nzimande.
Gumede argued that the State’s case was weak and that it lacked prima facie evidence.
Under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, an accused has a right to a discharge should there be no evidence against him.
Judge Rashid Vahed subsequently ruled in favour of the application and discharged Doorasamy of murder, defeating the cause of justice and theft.
Doorasamy has been an awaiting trial prisoner at Westville Prison for two years.
He was arrested in July 2019, after Devashnee Naidoo, a 30-year-old former teaching aid at Clarence Primary School, was found dead in their one-bedroom Morningside flat.
It emerged during the trial that the unemployed couple, who married on SABC 3’s reality wedding show, Married in A Flash, in November 2017, made a suicide pact due to financial difficulties.
The State, represented by senior State advocate Krishen Shah, submitted that Doorasamy unlawfully and intentionally killed Naidoo on or about June 30 and that her death was premeditated.
He put forward that Doorasamy made a concoction of antifreeze (an engine coolant) and cranberry juice, which he forced Naidoo to drink before he consumed it himself. When Doorasamy woke up, he found that Naidoo had died.
Instead of reporting the death to authorities, he kept her decomposing body in the flat for four days and pawned her gold Huawei cellphone (a gift from her brother), for R200.
On the fourth day, he attempted to throw himself into the ocean. After failing to go through with the suicide, he walked to the satellite police station on North Beach where he told officers of the suicide pact.
Officers then drove to the flat and found Naidoo’s bruised body on the bedroom floor.
At the start of judgment, Vahed provided a background of the deceased.
“She was a vegetarian and part of the Hare Krishna movement. She began working as a teacher’s aid. She worked for a year before she became employed on a permanent basis. She took her job as a teacher’s aid very seriously.”
Vahed spoke of the couple’s wedding that was aired on television. He said Naidoo won the competition and was given R75 000 to plan her wedding and that the couple married as a result of the programme.
He went over the evidence submitted by the State, which called 11 witnesses. This included the responding police officers, a pathologist and Naidoo’s family members. Twelve documentary exhibits were also submitted.
When making his decision, Judge Vahed factored in multiple submissions of the couple’s financial situation as well as Doorasamy’s willingness to offer information freely. He also considered the pathologist’s evidence.
Dr Vongani Baloyi changed her findings during trial.
In the initial post-mortem report, she found the cause of death to be blunt force face and neck injuries and ethylene glycol (an active ingredient found in antifreeze).
She, however, testified that while at least seven injuries were found on Naidoo’s body, medical research suggested that decomposition could have contributed to the bruising.
In looking at Naidoo’s brother’s evidence, Vahed said he found nothing substantial, apart from the couple having a rushed wedding day due to the TV show, and that it was a happy one.
“This turned into a state of unhappiness stemming from problems relating to finance.”
Vahed said Doorasamy gave information to Warrant Officer PD Naicker, at the satellite station, voluntarily and spontaneously.
In Naicker’s evidence he spoke of how Doorasamy arrived at the station drenched and out of breath. He told Naicker that he needed help and that he wanted to kill himself.
“He said he and his wife were having financial difficulties and their rent went unpaid for a long time. They had asked their families for help but that help was not forthcoming,” said Vahed.
“He (Doorasamy) voluntarily made statements without prompting or questioning and without Warrant Officer Naicker being alerted to anything untoward that might have happened.“
He said the crux of the State’s evidence was from Sergeant Princess Kunene who responded to the scene. Kunene said on arrival, she noticed Doorasamy’s clothing was wet, that he had sand on his pants. She also noted that upon inspecting Naidoo’s body, no open wounds were found.
Vahed found that Kunene failed to notify Doorasamy of his rights before questioning him.
“Her entire conversation with Doorasamy unfolded in the absence of any warning of self-incrimination or any caution that he should not answer any questions. After examining the deceased’s body, Kunene ought to have held the view that Doorasamy was a suspect at that stage. As a possible suspect, Kunene ought to have cautioned him to remain silent.“
Vahed said the facts were that the couple was in financial difficulty and were desperate. He said they made the decision together and drank the cocktail together. He said that fter finding that his wife had died, Doorasamy could have been confused, in shock, and he did not know what to do.
Vahed said the situation the couple found themselves in, was best explained when one examined photographs of their flat.
“It is often said that a picture paints a thousand words. When one looks at the photographs of the inside of the flat, Doorasamy and the deceased were in a state of abject poverty. Their conditions demonstrated acute desperation. There was no furniture to speak of, except for the bed, a rudimentary coffee table and two camp chairs and their little additional table. The kitchen has cover doors broken off. There is no stove or fridge.”
He said people living in such circumstances as depicted, must have been driven beyond normal behaviour.
“The additional pictures entirely fit the sense of desperation.”
After judgment was pronounced, Doorasamy’s mother Vani and sisters, Trinesha and Ramanie, became emotional.
“A lot of things were said about our brother, so we are glad that his name is finally cleared,” said one of his sisters.
The family hugged one another when Doorasamy walked out of the courthouse.
On Monday, Doorasamy told the POST via his attorney, Oscar Nzimande: “It brought tears to my eyes to be able to give my mum and sisters a big hug after two years.”
He said had mixed emotion before the judgment as he did not know what to expect.
“While listening to the lengthy judgment, my first emotion was fear. But after he dismissed all the charges against me, a sense of excitement and relief overwhelmed me.”
He said that being free felt like a dream but he felt robbed of two years of his life.
“To be able to see the sky and feel the sun on my skin is amazing. It made me realise how much we take the little things for granted. One of the reasons I was denied bail was that I was a suicide risk. But by then, I had been in prison for more than three months. If I wanted to kill myself in prison, ropes, blades and pills are easily available.”
He said prison life was difficult.
“It was a situation I could never accept and hated every single day. Day in and day out, you are treated worse than an animal. For the first month, I hardly ate any food and as a result I lost over 30 kilos.
“The sugar you are given for breakfast is rationed. You have to pick if you want the teaspoon in your tea or porridge. Then the amount of margarine you get for two slices in the morning is the same amount you get in the afternoon on your five slices.
“The two meals we got in prison were rationed and undercooked. The last meal for the day is at 2pm. From April, I put myself on a vegetarian fast. I ate only porridge and bread for three months.”
Doorasamy said he broke out in boils and abscess from the food he consumed.
He said that upon his release, all he wanted was a flavourful meal and his family did not disappoint.
“I was treated to a feast of chicken curry, trotters, grilled chops, sausages and pork ribs, which is my favourite. I finished off with some Häagen-Dazs ice cream and Lindt chocolate.”
Doorasamy said he would use his newfound freedom to start a clean slate.
“I have no other option but to go back to the drawing board and start off fresh. I will be looking for employment to start my second lease on life.”
He thanked his family for their unconditional support and his legal team for getting justice for him.
When Naidoo’s sister, Jay was contacted for comment, she became upset and said she could not understand how Doorasamy was acquitted.
The Post