MARGAO:
As many as 12 stab injuries were spotted on Fiona’s charred body, including nine on her back and three injuries on her chest and hands. Margao police said that accused husband Anthony Fernandes might have inflicted multiple injuries on his wife, but all the wounds could not be ascertained as the left portion of the body was found charred. Relatives of the deceased are expected to take possession of Fiona’s body on Tuesday to perform the last rites.
Margao police said that the accused, who was disturbed after hearing the alleged conversation between his wife and a caller from abroad, tried to assault Fiona with the kitchen knife when she leaning on the apartment window, looking outside. The police believe that the knife pierced Fiona’s chest as she suddenly looked back when her accused husband was about to stab her from behind.
Police said though Fiona tried to push Anthony in a bid to overpower him, the accused went on a spree, inflicting multiple injuries on her body. After mopping up the floor to clear the blood stains and to destroy evidence, the accused is believed to have then chopped of her legs since her body could not fit in the suitcase, which he used to transport the dead body to an isolated place inside the TB hospital compound before setting it on fire.
Accused husband Anthony is presently in the custody of the Margao police as a Margao court has remanded him to 10 days police custody. The Margao police has recovered the kitchen knife used by the accused to stab Fiona to death, two cell phones, besides the suitcase containing the clothes and valuables of the deceased, which he has kept at an Old market hotel to make it appear that his wife has left the house with her belongings.
