Dutchwoman murder: Samples sent for DNA test

CHENNAI: Police have preserved samples of flesh from under the nails of Johanna Cornelia Lamberta, the Dutchwoman suspected of being killed by her boyfriend Remco Elisabeth Martin Joseph near Mamallapuram on March 23. Investigators plan to do a DNA test on Joseph to match it with tissues under the woman’s nails, presuming that she would have scratched him during a struggle, if there was one, before her death.
Police said Martin Joseph, 32, killed 35-year-old Lamberta by banging her head against the wall and punching her in the chest. During postmortem, doctors found contusions on her head and chest. The postmortem report said Lamberta died of a head injury. It also said one of her ribs was fractured.
“Though Joseph confessed to the murder, police want to make it a foolproof case and hence decided to do a DNA test. The samples collected from Lambreta’s nails were sent to forensic department for analysis,” a police officer said.
Inspector general of police (north zone) C Sylendra Babu said Joseph apparently banged her head against the wall. When Lamberta fell down on the floor, Joseph kept punching her till she died. Joseph has been the prime suspect right from the day Lamberta’s body was found in a house near Mamallapuram. The couple had come to Mamallapuram on March 10.
No one has come forward to claim Lambreta’s body, which is in the Chengalpet government hospital morgue. Police have informed Lambreta’s family members about her death through the Netherlands Embassy in Delhi.