THE post-mortem report for Tonia McDonald, second wife of Portland businessman Everton “Beachy Stout” McDonald, revealed she received more than 12 stab wounds to her neck and upper body and 90 per cent of her total body surface was burnt.

The details of the post-mortem, done over a month after her body was discovered on Sherwood Forest main road in Portland in 2020, were read out in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston on Wednesday during the murder trial of Beachy Stout and his co-accused, Oscar Barnes.

Both are charged with the July 20, 2020 murder of Tonia.

The clerk of court had the duty of reading out the chilling details of the post-mortem report, which indicated that Tonia’s body was viewed and examined by a forensic pathologist on September 4, 2020 in the parish of St Catherine.

“The body was discovered on July 20, 2020 on the Sherwood Forest main road in Port Antonio. The body was found lying on the back. It was removed to the St Michael’s Funeral Home for storage, pending post-mortem examination on the instruction of the police. Tonia lived at Dolphin Court, Dolphin Bay, in Port Antonio, Portland. The person who identified the body was her sister.

“The examination took place at the Archer’s Funeral Home morgue. It was the body of an average-built female, about 5ft 5in, that was burnt and charred. A white shirt was with the body, with two oblique stab wounds at the back and one at the collar area. She had flame burns over chest, abdomen, both lower limbs, and right upper limb,” the clerk said, sharing that based on the report, only the face, head, and upper part of her left upper limb were spared.

The report further indicated that cavities were exposed in the chest and abdomen.

“The flame burns could have been peri-mortem or post-mortem in nature. There was an obliquely placed incised wound on the right side of the neck, 15 centimetres from the top of the head. The wound was wide at the lower part of the neck to form a wide base gradually tapered at the upper neck to form a pointed corner. The wound was 11 centimetres in length from above, downward. It ranged from 6 centimetres at the base at the lower part of the neck and 1 centimetre at the tip of the upper neck.

“The right side of the atria was punctured. There was fracture and dislocation of C3 to C6 of the vertebrae of the cervical spinal column. The depth of wound was maximum at the base at the lower neck and at the middle third of the neck and gradually increasing at the upper neck. The depth of the wound at the lower and middle third of the neck was 8 centimetres to 10 centimetres. The depth of the wound at the upper neck was 3 centimetres to 5 centimetres. An obliquely placed stab wound was on the right upper chest, 28 centimetres from the top of the head and 3 centimetres from the mid-line. The wound was 2 centimetres by 1 centimetre in skin size,” the clerk said.

According to the report, there were no abnormalities evident in the head, spinal cord, organs of special sense, and scalp.

In the stomach, the report said that there was evidence of semi-digested food, with no specific smell.

Tonia’s liver and kidney were congested, according to the post-mortem report.

The pathologist said, coupled with the wounds, death could have been caused or accelerated by poison.

The pathologist could not categorically state the cause of death, but was of the opinion that Tonia died due to shock and haemorrhage, body trauma, incised wounds at the neck, and multiple stab wounds.

Before the court heard the details of the post-mortem report, the first witness in the murder trial, who was a former employee and alleged right-hand man of Beachy Stout testified on Wednesday that the employer spoke often of wanting to commit murder, which drove fear in him.

According to the witness, it was fear that caused him to lie in a statement to the police detectives who were probing the 2020 murder of Beachy Stout’s second wife, 32-year-old Tonia McDonald.

A change of heart prompted the witness to come clean and tell what he knows about events leading up to and after the July 20, 2020 murder. That led to him giving a second statement, which helped to implicate his boss, who is being tried for murder along with his co-accused, Barnes. Each statement was given after being taken into police custody on separate occasions, months apart.

The witness told the court that he was also motivated to tell on his boss after a meeting with a prophetess from the Reach Out Ministry International, otherwise called Romi. When asked who the prophetess was, the witness said she was “a woman of God who can step within the spiritual realm”.

“Whatever Mr Mac commanded, I followed through. Mr Mac told me he wanted to kill several people. I lied to the police based on witnessing things he had done to other workers. I don’t make up stories, but I made up the first statement out of fear,” he claimed, while facing a slew of questions from Beachy Stout’s main attorney-at-law Christopher Townsend during cross-examination.

Townsend attempted to paint a picture of the witness as a person who likes to make up stories. The witness repeatedly denied that he had a tendency to make up stories and insisted that he was fearful for his life. The witness was released but was told in the event he needs to be recalled, he must make himself available.

The trial continues today with a new witness.