The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Retired pathologist ‘not surprised’ Bailey died
Stabbing: Moments immediately afterwards were crucial
A murder trial jury has been told that a schoolboy stabbed in the heart may not have survived even if he had been attacked right outside an operating theatre.
Professor James Grieve said at the High Court in Aberdeen that the moments after Bailey Gwynne suffered the injury would have been “crucial” to his survival chances.
And the retired pathologist added that because of the distance between Cults Academy and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary he was “not surprised” the teenager died.
Prof Grieve was giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial of a 16-year-old accused of murdering Bailey at the city secondary.
The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admits he struck the fatal blow during a fight but denies murder.
Prof Grieve, who carried out the postmortem on Bailey, who was also 16, said the blade of the knife used by the accused had gone between the youngster’s ribs and penetrated the left ventricle of his heart.
But he added he was “relatively confident” that the knife did not penetrate his body up to the hilt.
When asked by advocate depute Alex Prentice QC, who is prosecuting the case, whether the injury would have been survivable the professor said he was “not surprised the teen died”.
He said: “I could not say that if this happened outside an operating theatre, with surgeons all there scrubbed up and ready, it would be necessarily fatal.
“But the further away you get from that circumstance it is less likely there’s any chance of survival. And let’s face it, that situation would never occur.”
The professor said the wound sustained, which led to “catastrophic blood loss” was an “exceptionally dangerous” one.
He added: “Having seen the reports of paramedics and emergency workers, I’m not surprised by what the outcome was in spite of everything.”
The jury of eight women and seven men were asked to examine two photographs of Bailey’s body taken during the post-mortem. One was of Bailey’s torso and another of the wound.
The court previously heard that following the fatal blow Bailey stumbled down the length of a corridor at the school known as “the street” before collapsing gasping for breath.
A trail of blood could be seen where the tragic teen had walked.
Prof Grieve was asked if it was possible for someone who had suffered such an injury to make that journey.
He said the blow would quickly “destroy the integrity of that system” and cause the heart to beat faster in response to the blood loss.
He said: “The resulting shock and trauma is very variable. It depends on how fit the individual is.
“It is remarkable how young people can seem to be not affected because they have greater capacity. “But they will collapse very suddenly.” The trial continues.