Alleged victim had 32 injuries
24-YEAR-OLD FOUND IN A SHALLOW GRAVE
ALLEGED murder victim Darren Bonner had 32 separate areas of injury on his body when he was found in a shallow grave at a beauty spot, a court heard.
A pathologist concluded he had died from a lack of blood and oxygen to the brain and said his injuries were consistent with having been put in a choke hold.
Prosecutors claim Mr Bonner’s boss, Richard Spottiswood, murdered him with the help of his partner, Lucy Burn, which they both deny.
Dr Mark Egan, a forensic pathologist, examined Mr Bonner soon after he was pulled from a hole in the ground at Cresswell, Northumberland, last July.
He also carried out a post mortem examination when 24-year-old Mr Bonner died 16 days later, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Dr Egan told jurors when he first saw Mr Bonner he was “critically ill”, had obvious injuries and was in a depressed level of consciousness. He had small dots of bruising on his cheeks, eyes and behind the ears, which are a sign of asphyxiation, the court heard.
Dr Egan said Mr Bonner had more dotted bruising on his neck and also had an L-shaped graze on his neck and a graze just below his Adam’s Apple.
He went on to detail 32 areas of injury to the neck, torso, back, arms and legs, including grazes, abrasions and bruises.
There were no signs of defensive or offensive injuries, which indicated that Mr Bonner had not struck any blows or deflected any blows.
Dr Egan told jurors: “There has been pressure to the neck which ultimately proved to be fatal.”
Referring to bruising and abrasions to Mr Bonner’s back, he added: “The linear nature is in keeping with the use of a rod-shaped weapon.
”It would have been a mild degree of force but sufficient to cause bruising and would have been painful but insufficient to break underlying ribs.
”The injuries are not in themselves life-threatening.”
Dr Egan said a number of the injuries are consistent with him “moving through undergrowth while his bare skin was exposed to vegetation”. Two of the injuries raised the possibility he had been dragged.
After Mr Bonner had died, Dr Egan carried out a post mortem on July 28. He said by then some of the 32 sites of injury had healed or started to heal.
He had developed a deep vein thrombosis in his leg while in hospital and also had an infection and abscesses in his lungs which Dr Egan described as “a complication of traumatic brain injury”.
Asked about his conclusions, he said: “The injured party had been subjected to a fatal assault. This comprised pressure to the neck and at least 12 blows with a weapon to the posterior aspect of the torso.
”He had been exposed to undergrowth during transportation to the deposition site or in the time a small number of hours before this.
”There’s some evidence the deceased had been dragged and potentially restrained.
”The pressure to the neck has been complicated by irreversible brain damage and a severe and overwhelming infection to the lungs.”
Dr Egan was asked about the mechanism of choking. He said: “It could be an arm lock whereby pressure has been applied. If it was an arm lock correctly applied it would take a small number of seconds to choke someone out. Less than 20 seconds. If it was a shifting grip it might have taken longer than that. If the deceased was struggling.”
Dr Jennifer Bolton, a pathologist called to give evidence by the defence, was asked about the “carotid sleep hold”, a choke hold whereby the front of the neck is held in the crook of the elbow. She said it can render a person unconscious in as little as five seconds.
Spottiswood, 34, of Canterbury Way, Jarrow and Burn, 29, of Burns Close, South Shields, deny murder. Burn has admitted assisting an offender.
The trial continues.