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Dr. Rao was forced to abandon his examinations as a result of gunfire directed
towards the Cemetery. The bodies were left overnight at the Cemetery in boxes.
27 May – At the Cemetery
14.78.
Supt. Brown-Ellis went to the Cemetery to process the bodies left in
boxes. She was able to do so without interruption. She said –
“[There were] 23 bodies in an advanced state of
decomposition. Of the 23, three were burnt beyond
recognition.”
14.79.
It was alleged that the three were killed by gunmen on Whitfield
Avenue on 24 May after they refused to assist in blocking a road. These 3 cases
were referred to the Major Investigations Task Force (MIT) and were never
processed by Supt. Brown-Ellis’ team. These men were: Randame Mitchell of
Hawthorne Road, Cecil Nevin of Whitfield Avenue and George Baker also of
Whitfield Avenue.
28 May
14.80.
Supt. Brown-Ellis testified that, on this day, she returned to the
Cemetery and was assailed by bullets from gunmen who believed that she and
her team were attempting to burn the bodies. Soldiers rescued the JCF officers.
Arrangements were made for Madden’s to collect the bodies but, owing to a lack
of space at the Funeral Home, those bodies were not collected on Friday.
Weekend of 29 May
14.81.
Over the weekend, the bodies in the Cemetery were placed in
wooden boxes, and taken for storage in an air-conditioned facility at Norman
Road belonging to Madden’s. Mr. Madden also arranged with the owner of
Taylor’s Funeral Home to keep some of the bodies in storage. In fact,
Supt. Brown-Ellis went to Taylor’s about 12.15 p.m. to process the bodies at that