THE prosecution will prove that Cradle Fund chief executive Nazrin Hassan was murdered and his body set on fire by his own family to conceal their crime, in the trial of the widow and his two stepsons that commenced today.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran in her opening statement in the Shah Alam High Court said the deceased was living with the first accused, his wife Samirah Muzaffar, her two sons from another marriage, and a live-in Indonesian maid.

“The prosecution will prove that the murder happened between 11.30pm and 4am, on June 13 and 14, 2018, in the master bedroom.” 

“The deceased was living with his wife, the first accused, with two stepsons and an Indonesian maid Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large,” Raja Rozela said.

She said the first post-mortem report stated the cause of death was from complications from a blast to the head, and a second post-mortem three months later showed multiple blunt injuries to the head.

“The deceased did not die in the fire but the fire was deliberately set to cover the murder.”

The second post-mortem was requested by the victim’s brother. The blast mentioned refers to the family’s claim at the onset that a charged handphone next to Nazrin’s head had exploded.

This morning the court also heard from two police witnesses from the Criminal Investigation Department technical assistance division.

Lance Corporal Nazrin Zakaria from the Petaling Jaya police station told the court that he saw blood at the scene, including under the body of the deceased.

He was ordered by investigating officer Nizam Daud to photograph the scene and evidence inside the house in Mutiara Damansara.

“On June 14 at about 3pm I was instructed to capture the images at the crime scene and to gather pictures of evidence at the home. As I enter the room, I saw a body lying next to the bed.”

“The wall was black due to the smoke and there was blood at the crime scene and also under the body,” said the second witness to questions from defence lawyer LS Leonard. 

The other police witness, Corporal Mahadin Bakar, told the court that on November 5, 2018, he and Nizam and a team of forensics personnel from Bukit Aman had gone to the home a second time to take some more pictures. They were accompanied by two doctors from the University Malaya Medical Centre.

Mahadin said he went to the house to take photos the first time on August 21.

“On this second visit, the IO (Nizam) asked me to take pictures of a blood stain on the wall in the room. There were two doctors and a team of forensic (experts) from Bukit Aman,” he said in reply to lead defence counsel Mohamad Shafee Abdullah.

Shafee asked Mahadin if he had seen the blood stain during his first visit to the house on August 21.

“I can’t recall, I think I didn’t see it during the first time,” he said. 

Justice Ab Karim Ab Rahman adjourned the court for lunch. The hearing will resume at 3pm. – September 6, 2019.