Bullets fired at George Nkencho damaged his heart, lung, liver and spleen, an inquest into his death has heard.
Mr Nkencho (27), died after being shot by gardaí outside his west Dublin home in December 2020.
An inquest into his death has been running at Dublin District Coroner’s Court over the last three weeks.
On Thursday, the jury was presented with evidence of the pathology and postmortem examination on Mr Nkencho’s body.
READ MORE
The members of the jury had previously heard evidence from his family, witnesses, and gardaí who were present at the scene.
The inquest had previously heard from witnesses who said Mr Nkencho punched a retail worker at a shop and brandished a knife.
Gardaí have provided evidence that later, outside the Nkencho family home, he waved a knife towards them before he was shot.
Dr Myra Cullinane, the coroner overseeing the inquest, advised the family that the evidence of the postmortem examination and pathology would be “distressing”.
A postmortem examination on Mr Nkencho was carried out by then State pathologist Dr Kathleen Han Suyin on December 31th, 2020 – a day after his death.
Dr Han Suyin told the inquest on Thursday that she had been informed by gardaí that Mr Nkencho had apparently approached members of the Armed Support Unit with a knife and did not respond to verbal commands.
She said she was told that he was Tasered but, while immobilised, maintained a grasp of the knife and continued to approach the ASU after he recovered.
She said a second deployment of the Taser and the use of incapacitant spray were both unsuccessful, and five to six gunshots were fired.
She said she was told he received first aid immediately and was transferred to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, where resuscitation attempts – including three doses of adrenaline, two units of blood, and attempts to alleviate build-up of fluid – were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead.
Before the postmortem examination, a full CT scan on Mr Nkencho discovered there were two intact bullets present in the body, a build-up of blood in the space between the lung and chest wall, multiple rib fractures, and a tear in the spleen.
Injuries from the first bullet in the right lower anterior chest area appeared “superficial”, while the second bullet was in the “pleural space” between the chest and lung.
The jury was shown an anatomical diagram made by Dr Han Suyin representing Mr Nkencho’s body, and the pathologist guided them through the gunshot wounds.
She told the inquest on Thursday that he had been shot six times – identifying one of the wounds as “definitely” fatal, as it had pierced the heart and lung.
On the bullet track identified as definitely fatal, it appeared to enter on the posterior aspect of Mr Nkencho’s left flank – just slightly above the waist, and visible on the diagram showing his back.
This bullet exited upwards and slightly forwards at the centre of his chest – above the level of his nipples.
The track included damage to ribs, the back wall of the left ventricle of the heart and a smaller chamber of the organ, and it also passed through the left lung.
The inquest heard the track was potentially explainable by Mr Nkencho being bent or stooped over at the time, or the shot being fired from a lower elevation.
Other bullet entry wounds were also present on Mr Nkencho’s chest.
Dr Han Suyin said there was no evidence from her examination that any natural disease present would have contributed to the death, and told the inquest that toxicology found no evidence of alcohol or drugs in his system.
She said she was unable to determine a chronological order for the six gunshot wounds she had observed.
Two intact bullets were retrieved from the body, and the other four wounds were “through-and-through” injuries – three to the chest and one to the left arm.
She said three gunshot wounds within the chest had damaged the liver, spleen, lung and heart, and “would have proved rapidly variable”.
The pathologist said the directions of the wounds were “variable” and “in keeping with a moving body”, and with the movement of the person firing the shot.
She said none of the wounds could be considered to be close contact and were of intermediate range.
Dr Han Suyin said there was trauma on the back of the left hand consistent with bunt force on a rough surface, but there were no other assault or defence injuries present.
She said death was due to multiple gunshot wounds to the trunk.
The through-and-through injury on the arm may not have been fatal, she said, and there could have been a few seconds after injuries to the major organs before collapse.
In particular, she said, the wound that damaged the heart and lung would have been fatal, but others were “quite significant” also.
For one of the through-and-through wounds, she said she was unable to determine in which direction the bullet had travelled or to identify which side was the entry or exit.
The track of this wound appeared superficial and was present only in the soft tissue of the left flank. The wound tracked between the left chest and below the left shoulder blade.
It appeared this bullet did not damage vital organs.
Asked by barrister Ronan Kennedy, for An Garda Síochána, whether there was any evidence of a forcible kick to the mid-back, Dr Han Suyin said there was not.
The jury also heard evidence from Prof Jack Crane, a pathologist instructed by the Nkencho family, who was also previously the state pathologist for Northern Ireland.
Prof Crane gave evidence of his examination, conducted on January 12th, 2021.
In relation to the wound for which Dr Han Suyin said she could not determine which side was the entry, he agreed both directions were possible, but the jury had initially heard his postmortem found a “probable entrance wound” on the left side of Mr Nkencho’s back.
He said there was no evidence of close-range gunshot wounds, but said overlying clothing would have obscured determinations of traces of such shots. - PA
