A foreign nurse who lived in the same apartment three years ago with Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) nurse Mary Grace, her husband Marvin Vargas and their child testified in court yesterday.

Marvin and his alleged secret Maldivian lover Haleemath Lamha are on trial over Mary's suspected murder. Marvin was charged with wilful murder. Lamha was charged with both wilfully aiding a murder and unauthorised possession of controlled medicines.

The witness who testified at Wednesday's hearing at the Criminal Court was a person who lived in a rented room at the Filipino family's two-room apartment. The witness was also a nurse from the Philippines who worked at IGMH.

The witness lived in the rented room whilst Marvin, Mary and their child lived in the other room.

As their tenant, the witness said she did not speak much to Marvin or Mary. The witness said she last saw Mary in the morning on the day of her death. That was when both were of them were about to leave for work and Mary had been cooking for her brother's arrival, the witness said.

The witness learned of Mary's death after 4 pm that day from a nurse colleague, she said. The witness saw Mary's body at the mortuary.

The witness also went with Marvin on the ambulance that carried Mary's body, she said. Marvin did not speak to her but she overheard his conversation with Mary's brother who was also inside the ambulance at the time, she said.

She later heard that Mary died by hanging but she did not see the bedsheet that had been used, the witness said.

At yesterday's hearing, the court was also due to hear the testimony of two doctors as prosecution witnesses, both of whom were to testify remotely from a Maldives diplomatic mission in India.

However, the online testimony could not be arranged as the Indian High Commission had not granted the necessary approval, prosecutor Aishath Shaama Naseer told the court.

The Indian Foreign Ministry wished to clarify some legal matters and requested legal advice from the Attorney General's Office (AGO), she said. However, the witnesses could not be summoned yesterday as the AGO had not provided the advice yet, the lawyer from the Prosecutor General's office said.

The case

Mary was a nurse in the IGMH dialysis department while Marvin and Lamha worked as nurses in the casualty department.

As divorce is illegal in the Philippines, Marvin and Lamha were alleged to have been having a secret affair.

Marvin reported Mary Grace's death as a suicide by hanging on October 19, 2021. But suspicious circumstances prompted the police to conduct further investigations.

Marvin was arrested on suspicion of murder on October 27. Lamha was arrested 50 days later on December 16.

Marvin was charged with wilful murder and Lamha was charged with wilfully aiding a murder.

She faces additional charges over controlled medicines from IGMH that were found hidden in her room, which she had taken without permission.

Both Marvin and Lamha pleaded not guilty and the defendants have submitted witnesses to testify in their defence.