Marvin found guilty of wife Mary’s murder

Marvin S. Y. Vargas, a Filipino nurse who worked at a government hospital in Male’, has been found guilty of murdering his wife, Mary Grace Oned Pineda.

Mary was killed in her apartment on the first floor of Ma. Udhuheykokaage in Male’ City in the afternoon of October 19, 2021.

Her husband, Marvin was charged with murder with intent, while his alleged mistress, Haleemath Lamha Abdul Rahman, was charged as an accomplice.

All three had worked as nurses at the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)’s Emergency Room.

The Criminal Court found Marvin guilty of his wife’s murder on Monday. However, the sentencing is scheduled for a later date.

The court is currently deliberating on its verdict in the charge against Lamha.

Marvin had taken Mary’s body to IGMH in an ambulance mere minutes after she had gone to home for her break from work. He initially claimed her death as a suicide by hanging, and later changed his story and said she had suddenly collapsed.

Police found the death suspicious and opened an investigation.

Marvin was arrested on October 27, 2021. And Lamha was arrested on December 16, 2021.

An autopsy on Mary showed she died from injuries to her neck and head. Examiners also found traces succinylcholine - a medication used to cause short-term paralysis as part of general anesthesia - in her blood.

Investigators found a used succinylcholine injection, along with two other restricted injections from Lamha’s apartment.

Marvin faces a life sentence, while Lamha, if found guilty, faces at least six years in prison.