THE victim of an alleged murder died after bleeding from three wounds to the top of his head, a pathologist told Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

Peter Rous, 32, of Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, and Sara Kingston, 33, of Foresters Tower, Wood Farm, have denied murdering Guy Thomas and are standing trial.

Dr Kenneth Shorrock, a Home Office pathologist, was called to Mr Thomas's flat after he was found dead by his friend Stephen Hobbs on the morning of Friday, February 10.

Dr Shorrock said: "The cause of death was severe blood loss due to the wounds on the scalp."

The jury has been told how Mr Thomas had refused to go to hospital the night before for his head wounds to be treated.

Rous and Kingston are accused of beating him during a heavy drinking session.

Dr Shorrock said: "I can't say how long he was bleeding for. It would have been hours, somewhere in the range of one hour to 10 hours. If wounds on the scalp are not treated properly they do bleed very seriously."

He said the head wounds were caused by Mr Thomas being attacked. He said: "They were likely to have been caused by some sort of object with an edge, not as sharp as a knife but sufficiently sharp to crack and break the skin."

An ash tray and a broken glass found in Mr Thomas's flat after his death were displayed to the jury.

The trial continues.