Sara Sharif murder trial latest: Radiologist had never seen 10-year-old’s ‘very rare’ injury on child before

Sara Sharif had suffered “multiple unexplained fractures in 25 locations on the body” which could not have occurred by accident or in a single event, a radiologist has said.

It comes after jurors at the Old Bailey were told on Thursday that the 10-year-old’s bone marrow had been “unusual” in an examination of her body, which can often be associated with starvation or the rapid removal of nutrition.

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, all deny her murder.

A pathologist concluded that the 10-year-old died as a result of “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”.

She had suffered two traumatic injuries in the days before her death, as well as 71 recent injuries including bruises, abrasions, skin ulcers consistent with burns and probable bite marks.

Surrey Police discovered the schoolgirl dead in a bedroom at her home in Woking on 10 August last year.

The court heard earlier in the week that Sara’s head was covered with “homemade hoods” made of plastic bags and parcel tape in the weeks before her death.

Jurors were also told neighbour Chloe Redwin would hear “shockingly loud” sounds of “smacking” from their family home followed by “gut-wrenching screams”.

Key Points

• Sara Sharif had suffered ‘multiple fractures’ in 25 locations

• Sara Sharif showed signs of starvation and had ‘unusual’ injuries, jury told

• Schoolgirl suffered at least 71 fresh injuries although true total unknown, jury told

• Pathologist details string of bruises, burns and injuries found on Sara Sharif’s body

Fractures were ‘highly indicative of severe inflicted physical trauma’, jury told

14:21 , Holly Evans

In the conclusion to his report, the jury were told that Professor Owen Arthurs had found that the location, pattern and severity of the fractures were “highly indicative of severe inflicted physical trauma”.

He added that given the different stages of healing present in the various fractures, they could not be explained “by accidental mechanism or a single high impact trauma event”.

“I concluded that most o the fractures individually were likely to have been caused by blunt force trauma,” he said.

The Old Bailey heard that there was no evidence that she had suffered from any underlying disease.

Police bodycam footage from night Sara Sharif's body was discovered

13:45 , Holly Evans

Trial adjourns for lunch

13:15 , Holly Evans

The trial into the murder of Sara Sharif has adjourned for the lunch break and will resume at 2.05pm.

Radiologist had ‘never seen’ a hyoid fracture in a child

13:14 , Holly Evans

Detailing a fracture to Sara’s hyoid, a u-shaped bone at the top of her neck, Professor Arthurs said it was “extremely rare”.

“I have never seen a hyoid fracture in a child, even when we have a very good history in ligature strangulation,” he said.

“The most likely cause here is manual strangulation with a degree of force above that we would commonly recognise as ligature strangulation, meaning hanging.”

He believes this was caused between six to 12 weeks before her death.

Spinal fractures likely caused by ‘high velocity impact’

12:53 , Holly Evans

A radiologist who examined Sara Sharif’s bones has said that her spinal fractures were likely caused by “high velocity impact or multiple trauma”.

“Spinal fractures are very rare even in specialist trauma centres and they are usually caused by road traffic accidents or falls from height,” he said.

In one case she had suffered a re-fracture to one of the vertebraes in her spine which indicated “repeated trauma”, but Professor Arthurs could not say draw a conclusion on when this had occurred.

Schoolgirl had suffered 10 spinal fractures

12:30 , Holly Evans

Sara had suffered ten spinal fractures in the weeks before she died,

Professor Owen Arthurs told jurors that they were in the “early stages of healing” and that they had been caused more than 10 days before her death and within the four week lead up to 8 August.

Other fractures were located on both shoulder blades, both arms and both hands, two ribs and to her collar bone.

Radiologist says injuries to arm and scapular likely to be ‘blunt force trauma’

11:48 , Holly Evans

Jurors have been shown a number of X-ray scans which showed fractures in certain areas of Sara Sharif’s body, including her right and left scapular.

“I can’t think of an accidental way in which you could fracture both scapulars at the same time,” Professor Arthurs said.

Referring to an injury to her right arm, he said: “In very young children when you twist the bone you can easily break the outside before you break the bone itself. I don’t think that applies here because Sara is 10. I just think it’s more likely there has been blunt force trauma.”

The Old Bailey were also shown a bruise that had calcified in her arm, which suggested it had not been given time to heal or had repeatedly come into contact with direct impact.

“It takes at least three to four weeks for a bruise to turn to calcification. In my view this injury is somewhere between four to eight weeks old,” he said.

‘Unusual’ injuries could not have occurred accidentally, says radiologist

11:26 , Holly Evans

Detailing her injuries, Professor Owen Arthurs described them as “unusual” and said they could not have occurred by accident or in a single event.

Asked for his professional opinion, he told jurors: “Many fractures can occur accidentally and many fractures can occur from a single event but in my opinion, most of the fractures in this case were very unusual and they cannot be explained by an accidental mechanism nor can they be explained by a single high impact trauma event.

“My opinion is that the most likely explanation for the constellation of injuries, including location and pattern, is multiple episodes of blunt force trauma impacted over several weeks.”

The Old Bailey had previously heard that Sara had suffered more than 70 injuries before her death, which had included bitemarks, burns and scalding.

Sara Sharif had suffered ‘multiple fractures’ in 25 locations

11:15 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif had suffered “multiple unexplained fractures in 25 locations on the body”, a report by a paediatric radiologist had concluded.

Professor Owen Arthurs told the court that he had undertaken a skeletal survey which included an X-ray of every bone in her body followed by a CT scan.

He said that she had suffered “multiple injuries”, including fractures to her hyoid, right clavicle, left and right scapular, to her spine and ribs, elbow and hands.

Trial resumes

10:52 , Holly Evans

The trial of Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal Malik has resumed.

Jurors are due to hear evidence from paediatric radiologist Professor Owen Arthurs.

In pictures: The family home where schoolgirl was found dead

09:45 , Tara Cobham

Full transcript of Sara Sharif’s father’s phone call to police

08:53 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif’s father cried as he confessed to killing his daughter in a phone call to police from Pakistan, a court has heard.

Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering 10-year-old Sara alongside her stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.

On Thursday, jurors were played a recording of the eight-and-a-half-minute phone call Sharif made to the police non-emergency 101 number on 2.47am on August 10 2023, two days after Sara died.

Read the full article here:

Full transcript of Sara Sharif’s father’s phone call to police on August 10 2023

Stepmother of Sara Sharif requests ‘earliest possible’ flights after child’s death

07:00 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif had 71 injuries across her body

04:00 , Holly Evans

Giving evidence on Wednesday, forensic pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary said some of Sara’s external injuries, which included dozens of bruises, grazes and burns, were the result of “repetitive blunt trauma” and “blunt impact or solid pressure, or both.”

He told the court there were more than 71 injuries to the little girl’s body.

They included significant damage internally, including bleeding on her brain, multiple bruises on her lungs and multiple skeletal injuries, jurors heard.

Dr Cary presented his findings from a post-mortem examination of Sara’s body he carried out on August 15 2023 which took around three hours.

Sara had a height of 1.37 metres and a weight of 27 kilograms, with both measurements within the average bracket for a child her age but towards the lower end, the court heard.

In pictures: Courtroom drawings show defendants in the dock

02:00 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif showed signs of starvation and suffered broken bone in neck weeks before death, jury told

Friday 18 October 2024 00:00 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif showed signs of starvation or the “rapid removal of food”, according to a pathologist who discovered an unusual indicator in her bone marrow, a jury was told.

A trial at the Old Bailey also heard how the 10-year-old schoolgirl had likely been strangled until a bone in her neck had broken, up to three months before she died last August.

It was one of many injuries the young girl suffered in an alleged “campaign of abuse”, which also included burns, broken bones and extensive bruising.

Read the full article from today’s court proceedings here:

Sara Sharif ‘suffered broken bone in her neck weeks before death’

‘Gut-wrenching screams’ and note that read ‘I lost it’: Sara Sharif jury told of campaign of abuse

Thursday 17 October 2024 22:00 , Holly Evans

Schoolgirl Sara Sharif was forced to wear “homemade hoods” of plastic bags and parcel tape as she endured a campaign of abuse which lasted up to two years, a court heard.

The 10-year-old’s blood was found on a cricket bat and a vacuum cleaner at the family home, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC also alleged that bruises found on her body matched a belt buckle and plastic-coated metal pole found in an outhouse at the property – where police also found a rolling pin with traces of her DNA.

Read the full article from Tuesday here:

‘Gut-wrenching screams’ and note that read ‘I lost it’: Sara Sharif trial

Fractures to her hand and neck could be linked to 'direct blow’ or ‘manual strangulation’

Thursday 17 October 2024 21:00 , Holly Evans

Detailing her injuries, Professor Freemont said that Sara’s injury to the capitate bone in her left hand was “rare” in children, and was usually caused by “falling onto the outstretched hand or a direct blow to the hand”.

Asked if the fractures to her fingers were unusual, he responded: “They’re seen relatively frequently and they’re commonly associated with pulling the fingers apart.”

Of the fracture to her hyoid bone, he said: “It depends on the setting but in the setting of neck compression, it’s fractured in 25 per cent of cases, the most common type of cases is manual strangulation.”

Listen: Sara Sharif's father tells 999 operator he's killed daughter

Thursday 17 October 2024 20:00 , Holly Evans

Pictured: The three defendants on trial for Sara Sharif’s murder

Thursday 17 October 2024 19:00 , Holly Evans

Police bodycam footage from night Sara Sharif's body was discovered

Thursday 17 October 2024 18:00 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif was strangled until a bone in her neck broke, court hears

Thursday 17 October 2024 17:00 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif had been strangled until a bone in her neck broke up to three months before she died, a court has heard.

Jurors previously heard the 10-year-old had suffered more than 70 injuries, shortly before she was found dead in her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year.

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his daughter’s murder, alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.

Read the full article here:

Sara Sharif was strangled until a bone in her neck broke, court hears

Trial adjourns for the day

Thursday 17 October 2024 16:36 , Holly Evans

The trial of Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik has been adjourned for the day, and will resume on Friday.

Cell site data shows defendant’s going to work and hairdressers

Thursday 17 October 2024 15:25 , Holly Evans

Cell site data shows in the weeks before Sara’s death, the defendants continued life as usual, with both Urfan Sharif and Faisal Malik attending work.

Meanwhile Beinash Batool had spent time organising a child’s birthday party and visited the hairdresser.

Earlier this morning, jurors heard that she been strangled until a bone in her neck broke up to three months before she died. Other injuries analysed included two fractures in the girl’s fingers which had occurred between 12 and 18 days before her death, based on his analysis of the stage of healing the injuries were at.

Pathologist says ‘high likelihood’ injuries are non-accidental

Thursday 17 October 2024 14:39 , Holly Evans

Earlier this morning, Professor Freemont said was questioned on the nature of the injuries and told jurors: “If you find fractures of different ages and different bones, there is a high likelihood they are non-accidental injuries.”

The pathologist went on to say that the bone marrow he examined from Sara’s body showed changes which could have been caused by starvation or “the rapid removal of all food”.

The previous day, jurors heard that another pathologist who carried out a post-mortem examination on Sara’s body gave the girl’s cause of death as “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”.

Trial resumes

Thursday 17 October 2024 14:13 , Holly Evans

Proseuctor Bill Emlyn-Jones has resumed questioning Surrey Police analyst Vernie Govender at the Old Bailey.

We’ll bring you all the latest updates.

In pictures: The family home where schoolgirl was found dead

Thursday 17 October 2024 14:05 , Tara Cobham

In pictures: Sara Sharif before her death

Thursday 17 October 2024 13:40 , Holly Evans

Trial breaks for lunch

Thursday 17 October 2024 13:09 , Holly Evans

The trial has broken for lunch and will resume at 2pm.

How did this happen to Sara Sharif? What we know about the events leading to schoolgirl’s death

Thursday 17 October 2024 12:49 , Holly Evans

Schoolgirl Sara Sharif was hooded, restrained and beaten with a belt buckle and pole in a “campaign of abuse” lasting more than two years before her death, a court has heard.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his 10-year-old daughter’s murder alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29. All three deny murder and the defence is yet to mount its case.

Police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her family home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August last year, with “disturbing” injuries that included bitemarks, scalding and broken bones.

Read the full article here:

What we know about the events leading to Sara Sharif’s death

Fractures to her hand and neck could be linked to 'direct blow’ or ‘manual strangulation’

Thursday 17 October 2024 12:16 , Holly Evans

Detailing her injuries, Professor Freemont said that Sara’s injury to the capitate bone in her left hand was “rare” in children, and was usually caused by “falling onto the outstretched hand or a direct blow to the hand”.

Asked if the fractures to her fingers were unusual, he responded: “They’re seen relatively frequently and they’re commonly associated with pulling the fingers apart.”

Of the fracture to her hyoid bone, he said: “It depends on the setting but in the setting of neck compression, it’s fractured in 25 per cent of cases, the most common type of cases is manual strangulation.”

Sara Sharif had sustained fractures to fingers ‘12 to 18 days’ before death

Thursday 17 October 2024 12:00 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif had suffered fractures in her fingers and left hand up to 12 to 18 days before her death, the Old Bailey has heard.

She had also suffered a fracture to her hyoid bone in her neck, which is believed to have occurred between six to 12 weeks before she died on 8 August.

Jurors have heard from Professor Anthony Freemont, an osteoarticular pathologist, who examined bones from Sara’s body.

He added that her bone marrow had been “unusual” in his examination, and had shown up with a “bluey tinge” which revealed itself to be gelatinous transformation of the bone marrow. This can often be associated with starvation or the rapid removal of nutrition, although Professor Freemont could not say if this was a direct cause.

Watch: Stepmother of Sara Sharif requests ‘earliest possible’ flights after child’s death

Thursday 17 October 2024 11:30 , Tara Cobham

Trial resumes for the fourth day

Thursday 17 October 2024 11:30 , Holly Evans

The trial of Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik has resumed for the fourth day at the Old Bailey.

Jurors are expected to hear evidence from Professor Anthony Freemont, an osteoarticular pathologist.

What trial heard yesterday

Thursday 17 October 2024 10:54 , Tara Cobham

• Sara Sharif had suffered more than 70 injuries shortly before she was found dead in her home, the court heard.

• Giving evidence on Wednesday, forensic pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary presented his findings from a post-mortem examination of Sara’s body he carried out on August 15 2023 which took around three hours.

• He gave the girl’s cause of death as “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”.

• He said some of Sara’s external injuries, which included dozens of bruises, grazes and burns, were the result of “repetitive blunt trauma” and “blunt impact or solid pressure, or both.”

• He told the more than 71 injuries to the little girl’s body included significant damage internally, including bleeding on her brain, multiple bruises on her lungs and multiple skeletal injuries, jurors heard.

In pictures: Sara’s father, stepmother and uncle stand trial as they deny her murder

Thursday 17 October 2024 10:27 , Tara Cobham

Pictured: Note allegedly found by Sara Sharif’s body

Thursday 17 October 2024 09:17 , Holly Evans

A note that was allegedly found by Sara Sharif’s body in her father’s handwriting has been pictured in court.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his 10-year-old daughter’s murder alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.

It is alleged within hours of her death the defendants had booked a flight out of the country.

Read the full article here:

Note allegedly found by Sara Sharif’s body: ‘Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter’

Schoolgirl Sara Sharif suffered a catalogue of 71 injuries before her death, jury told

Thursday 17 October 2024 08:01 , Jabed Ahmed

Read the full report from the third day of the trial from our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin:

Schoolgirl Sara Sharif suffered a catalogue of 71 injuries before death, jury told

What did the court hear on Wednesday?

Thursday 17 October 2024 07:00 , Holly Evans

On the third day of the trial at the Old Bailey, jurors heard:

• Sara Sharif had suffered more than 70 injuries shortly before she was found dead

• A pathologist gave her cause of death as “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”.

• No natural diseases or drugs had contributed to her death, which was described as “unnatural”.

• Older injuries included scarring on her left jawline, scars around her pelvis, a puncture wound to her forehead and marks from the lower left leg to the top of the foot.

• Bruises on her legs were likely caused by “multiple impacts with a linear object”, likely an item used as a weapon.

• Traces of the 10-year-old’s blood were discovered on the kitchen floor, a vacuum cleaner and a cricket bat

Sara Sharif had more than 70 recent injuries after her death, court told

Thursday 17 October 2024 06:00 , Holly Evans

Sara Sharif had more than 70 recent injuries after her death, court told

Stepmother of Sara Sharif requests ‘earliest possible’ flights after child’s death

Thursday 17 October 2024 04:00 , Holly Evans

Sara died of ‘complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect'

Thursday 17 October 2024 02:00 , Holly Evans

Reading his conclusions, Dr Cary gave Sara’s cause of death as “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect” and described it as “unnatural”.

He said the findings were in keeping with “significant and repetitive blunt force trauma” and did not exclude the possibility of Sara’s burns contributing to her death through sepsis.

Previously, jurors have heard Sara had suffered “probable human bite marks”, an iron burn and scalding from hot water.

Traces of the 10-year-old’s blood were discovered on the kitchen floor, a vacuum cleaner and a cricket bat following a police search of the family home, the prosecution said.

The defendants, of Hammond Road in Woking, have denied murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between December 16 2022 and August 9 2023.

Police bodycam footage from night Sara Sharif's body was discovered

Thursday 17 October 2024 00:00 , Holly Evans

No natural diseases or drugs had contributed to Sara’s death

Wednesday 16 October 2024 22:00 , Holly Evans

Dr Cary presented his findings from a post-mortem examination of Sara’s body he carried out on 15 August 2023 which took around three hours.

Sara had a height of 1.37 metres and a weight of 27 kilograms, with both measurements within the average bracket for a child her age but towards the lower end, the court heard.

The court heard no natural diseases or drugs had contributed to Sara’s death.

Among the older injuries were “blotchy scarring” on the left jawline, multiple purple scars around the pelvis, marks from the lower left leg to the top of the foot and fine scars and blotchy brown discolouration on the left forearm.

Recent injuries were identified across all parts of Sara’s body, including on her face, fingers, ankles and back.

The key dates in Sara Sharif’s tragic death

Wednesday 16 October 2024 21:00 , Holly Evans

Ten-year-old Sara Sharif died after an alleged “campaign of abuse” in the home she shared with her father, stepmother and uncle.

A court heard on Tuesday that a “high pitched scream” was heard two days before the 10-year-old was killed and her family fled to Pakistan.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his daughter’s murder alongside Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.

Police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year following a call from Sharif in Pakistan saying he “beat her up too much” for being “naughty”, the court has heard.

Read the full article here:

The key dates in Sara Sharif’s tragic death after alleged ‘campaign of abuse’

Listen: Sara Sharif's father tells 999 operator he's killed daughter

Wednesday 16 October 2024 19:00 , Holly Evans

How did this happen to Sara Sharif? What we know about the events leading to schoolgirl’s death

Wednesday 16 October 2024 18:00 , Holly Evans

Schoolgirl Sara Sharif was hooded, restrained and beaten with a belt buckle and pole in a “campaign of abuse” lasting more than two years before her death, a court has heard.

Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 42, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his 10-year-old daughter’s murder alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29. All three deny murder and the defence is yet to mount its case.

Police found Sara’s body in a bunk bed in her family home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August last year, with “disturbing” injuries that included bitemarks, scalding and broken bones.

Read the full article here:

What we know about the events leading to Sara Sharif’s death

What did the court hear on Wednesday?

Wednesday 16 October 2024 17:00 , Holly Evans

On the third day of the trial at the Old Bailey, jurors heard:

• Sara Sharif had suffered more than 70 injuries shortly before she was found dead

• A pathologist gave her cause of death as “complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect”.

• No natural diseases or drugs had contributed to her death, which was described as “unnatural”.

• Older injuries included scarring on her left jawline, scars around her pelvis, a puncture wound to her forehead and marks from the lower left leg to the top of the foot.

• Bruises on her legs were likely caused by “multiple impacts with a linear object”, likely an item used as a weapon.

• Traces of the 10-year-old’s blood were discovered on the kitchen floor, a vacuum cleaner and a cricket bat

Pathologist ‘can’t exclude’ possibility that burns contributed to death, court told

Wednesday 16 October 2024 16:34 , Amy-Clare Martin

The pathologist noted he “could not exclude” the possibility that burns contributed to Sara’s death through sepsis.

Dr Cary said there was a chance that infection could have entered her blood stream and caused generalised collapse.

The schoolgirl had suffered at least 71 injuries inflicted the the days before her death, including a number of skin ulcers consistent with burns. There was a large area of ulceration on Sara’s buttock, the court heard, while there two ulcerated areas over her ankle bones.

The jury previously heard Sara had suffered “probable human bite marks”, an iron burn and scalding from hot water.

The defendants deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

Schoolgirl had ‘gaping' head injury, court told

Wednesday 16 October 2024 16:07 , Amy-Clare Martin

A “gaping” head wound was among 71 injuries found on Sara Sharif’s body by a forensic pathologist.

Dr Cary, who carried out a three-hour post-mortem examination on 15 August 2023 last year, told jurors she suffered a puncture wound on her forehead which was “sharp or semi-sharp” and had been left “gaping”.

Other recent injuries were identified across all parts of Sara’s body, including on her face, fingers, ankles and back. She was 4ft 6 and weighed 4 stone 3lbs.

He also identified multiple scars on her body, including “blotchy scarring” on the left jawline, multiple purple scars around the pelvis, marks from the lower left leg to the top of the foot and fine scars and blotchy brown discolouration on the left forearm.

The court heard no natural diseases or drugs had contributed to Sara’s death.

Sara Sharif’s death was caused by multiple injuries and neglect, court told

Wednesday 16 October 2024 15:41 , Amy Clare-Martin

Pathologist Dr Cary concluded the 10-year-old died from complications arising from multiple injuries and neglect, the court heard.

Her death was described as “cumulative” rather than being attributed to one specific injury or incident.

However the pathologist said she may have gradually succumbed to two traumatic brain injuries she suffered two to five days earlier if she was left unattended.

In his conclusions he noted “widespread” injuries to the skin’s surface, including puncture wounds, bruising and internal injuries to the abdomen.

“These findings are in keeping with significant and repetitive blunt force trauma,” he told the Old Bailey, adding that the pattern of injuries are in keeping with the use of an “instrument”.

Sara suffered two traumatic brain injuries 2 to 5 days before her death, court told

Wednesday 16 October 2024 15:15 , Amy-Clare Martin

The schoolgirl suffered two traumatic brain injuries inflicted two to five days before she died, the court heard.

The head injuries could have caused neurological symptoms including loss of consciousness, concussion, headaches, irritability, vomiting and seizures. These “might have contributed to the death together with other injuries”, the jury were told.

Shortly before her death her brain was deprived of oxygen causing a separate ischemic brain injury which was described as a potential “terminal event” by Dr Cary.

She also suffered bruising consistent with blunt force impact to the abdomen, Dr Cary said.

Schoolgirl suffered ‘conspicuous haemorrhage’ at site of shoulder-to-shoulder bruising, court told

Wednesday 16 October 2024 14:20 , Amy-Clare Martin

Detailing the internal injuries, pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary said he found evidence of “conspicuous haemorrhage” at the site of “intense” bruising on Sara’s chest.

The expert agreed the injury was a “broad collar” of bruising over the front of the schoolgirl’s upper chest under questioning by prosecutor Mr Emlyn Jones.

He previously described the injury as “intense purplish red bruising” around her neck and torso. He said these could have been the result of either “blunt impact or solid pressure, or both”.