A former Christchurch man crushed to dying with a cricket bat in Dunedin had an enormous gap within the facet of his cranium similar to a sufferer of a aircraft crash, a pathologist says.
When the physique of 45-year-old Brent Andrew Bacon was examined by pathologist Dr Charles Glenn, he discovered a gap stretching from the proper eye socket spherical to the again of the top, the Excessive Courtroom at Dunedin heard.
The jury this morning was proven a computer-generated picture of the in depth injury brought on by John Kenneth Collins (39) on February 4, 2019.
He admitted wielding the bat however stated he solely used it as a result of Mr Bacon “got here at him” in a paranoid state.
The defendant admitted expenses of interfering with a physique and unlawfully taking a car on the trial’s outset on Monday however his counsel Len Andersen QC stated there was no murderous intent behind the assault on the sufferer.
Mr Bacon’s physique was discovered beside a rural gravel highway, hid in a blue sleeping again and dumped beneath a low-hanging tree 35km north of Dunedin, two weeks after his dying.
Detective Iain Notman, who was answerable for the scene, stated the corpse was “tucked just below the cover” with the toes and head protruding.
In consequence it was in a state of decomposition
On February 21, Dr Glenn carried out an post-mortem.
He informed the courtroom right now that the absence of pores and skin meant there could be inherent limitations to his findings.
“It actually can inhibit our capability to be decisive,” he stated.
Dr Glenn described the foremost trauma to the cranium as a “massive damage” and he discovered about 30 bone fragments inside the top because of “egg-shell fractures”.
Crown prosecutor Richard Smith requested the pathologist to touch upon the drive required to trigger such injury.
“It is rather a lot,” Dr Glenn stated.
“We routinely see displaced fragmentation of the cranium in motor-vehicle accidents or a aircraft crash, or a fall from a long way.”
He additionally detailed a 4cm laceration to the centre of the brow and a fracture to a bone within the neck.
Mr Andersen requested whether or not the accidents had been in step with an overhand blow with the cricket bat to the brow, adopted by a sideways blow to the proper of the top, inflicting the foremost cranium defect.
Dr Glenn accepted that might have occurred and burdened it might take “great drive”.
Quite than two blows, nevertheless, he believed there was a minimal of three – two to the top and one to the neck.
In his expertise, the foremost “gaping defect” to the facet of the cranium was in all probability the results of a number of strikes, fairly than one, because the defence instructed.
Radiologist Dr Andrew Gilkison was equivocal.
He informed the jury it was tough to distinguish between whether or not the accidents had been the results of one “massive occasion” or quite a few lesser blows.
The jury was additionally proven x-rays of Mr Bacon’s palms.
They revealed fractures to 2 fingers contained in the palm of the proper hand and one within the left hand.
There have been two logical explanations, Mr Glenn informed the courtroom.
“It may very well be from the hand attempting to cease no matter is inflicting the impacts to the top,” he stated.
“It can be somebody inserting a hand on the injured floor and one other influence on the hand.”
Each medical witnesses accepted they had been unable to inform whether or not any of the accidents occurred earlier than or after dying.
Collins’ companion 32-year-old Aleisha Dawson helped eliminate the sufferer’s physique and the couple had been present in Rotorua collectively on February 20 earlier than being arrested.
She pleaded responsible and was sentenced as an adjunct to murder.
The trial continues.
