A MAN accused of murder vomited in the dock while listening to gruesome pathology evidence today.
Jack Crawley, 20, threw up just after day five of the trial got underway at Carlisle Crown Court.
At the time, Home Office pathologist Dr Matthew Cieka was describing the state of victim Paul Taylor’s (above) body when it was found in Cumbrian woods in May, seven months after the 56-year-old was last seen at his home in Annan.
Crawley, from Carlisle, has admitted the manslaughter of dad-of-two Mr Taylor but denies his murder. Co-accused Marcus Goodfellow, 20, also denies assisting an offender.
Mr Cieka said how he noticed “numerous defects” to the skull and told the jury: “The vast majority of the remains were skeletonised, reduced to bone.”
Meanwhile, the doctor listed other injuries he found on Mr Taylor’s remains, including fracturing to the cheekbone, jaw, eye socket, eyebrow ridge, elbow, hand, leg, ribs, spine, shoulder blade, and foot, as well as burned bones.
In his opinion, there had been “a minimum of ten blows” to the head, which he thought came from a “blunt weapon”, while those to the arms indicated possible defensive action from Mr Taylor.
Sharing his overall conclusions, Dr Cieka said: “The possible defensive injuries to the elbow indicate that the deceased was conscious for at least part of the attack.”
Although giving the cause of death as “unascertained” due to the state of the body, the pathologist added: “Any of the impacts seen to the head, particularly the ones penetrating the skull, would be associated with the significant likelihood of a fatal outcome.”
He was then questioned by defence barrister Toby Hedworth, who asked if such impacts would have left body matter at the scene of such an attack, to which he replied yes.
Mr Hedworth said: “Ultimately, because of what there is not, you cannot say with anything approaching certainty, what was the cause of death.”
The trial resumes tomorrow.
