A FORENSIC pathologist has told a jury in a murder trial that despite a lack of ‘ligature marks’ on the neck, a victim could still have been strangled.
Dr Brett Lockyer gave evidence at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday (February 13) where Scarlet Blake, 25, stands charged with the murder of Jorge Carreno at Parsons Pleasure on July 25, 2021.
She is accused of strangling him and pushing him in the water. She denies the charge but has admitted to seeing him hours before his death.
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Dr Lockyer told a jury he ‘did not consider’ strangulation as a cause of death at the time of the post-mortem examination in August 2021 as there was a ‘lack of evidence’ from police of third-party involvement.
At the time, he ruled Mr Carreno’s death as ‘immersion with alcohol intoxication’.
He was asked in November 2023 to consider his findings in line with different scenarios.
When asked if a strangulation could have taken place with a thin wire due to a picture of a homemade garotte using piano wire being found on Blake’s phone, Dr Lockyer said: “There are no features to indicate the use of a garotte made with piano wire even if it was covered with a cloth material.
"It's very fine and would have left a mark externally."
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However, he was also asked to consider the dressing down belt and Mr Carreno's scarf could have been used in a strangulation.
The trial heard earlier that Blake had taken a picture with a dressing gown cord the night Mr Carreno had died.
"These would be broader ligatures," he said. "Broader ligatures don't always leave marks on the skin or internally either.
"Also bodies recovered from water, it is known that ligature marks can disappear quite quickly"
Dr Lockyer also noted that a deep bruise was found on the back Mr Carreno’s skull, measuring 2cm.
"This is an impact causing bleeding beneath the skin," said Dr Lockyer. "So it could be from the head hitting an object or an object hitting the head."
He said it was a type of injury that could have caused unconsciousness.
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When asked what sort of object could have caused the injury, Dr Lockyer said there is a possibility of a 'vodka bottle being used as a weapon' to cause this type of injury and not smashing during the process.
Earlier in the trial, it was heard a vodka bottle lid was found at Parsons Pleasure and Blake’s DNA was found on the lid.
The trial continues this week.
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