Nicola Collins had injuries from scalp to ankles, pathologist tells court
A Kerry woman found dead in Cork last year had bruises and lacerations extending from her scalp to her ankles.
Nicola Collins (38) sustained blunt force trauma to the head and died as a result of brain trauma, a pathologist told a judge and jury today.
A total of 125 separate bruises and lacerations were counted on the body and head of the deceased at post-mortem.
Cathal O'Sullivan, 45, who is originally from Charleville, Co Cork is on trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork and denies murdering Ms Collins on March 27 last year at a flat at 6A Popham's Road, Farranree.
Dr Margaret Bolster said she found the cause of Nicola Collins’s death was brain swelling and traumatic subdural haemorrhage, with injury to the nerve endings in the brain due to blunt force trauma to the head.
“It was brain trauma which led to her death”, the assistant state pathologist testified today.
Dr Bolster told how she found Ms Collins’ body lying unclothed on the bedroom floor in the upstairs apartment, rented by Mr O’Sullivan, and she found bloodstained clothes including a bra, underpants, t-shirt and jeans in the bathroom where she also noticed blood stains on the sink, wall and tiles.
She said Ms Collins had extensive bruising all over her body including behind her ears, to her scalp, to both eyes, along both arms and wrists, on her thighs and shins as well as on her neck, shoulders, left breast and stomach and breastbone - though, she said, a rib injury was one that was commonly associated with CPR by paramedics.
The deceased also had bleeding from both nostrils, cuts to her lip and to her forehead as well as two broken front teeth, a bleeding into her left eye and from her left ear and a displaced fracture of her lower jaw on the left hand side while she also had grazes to her cheeks and scratches on her neck and under her jaw.
The late Ms Collins was a native of St Brendan’s Park in Tralee and had been living at Clashduv Road in the Togher area of Cork for a number of years.
Dr Bolster's examination found the deceased had 125 separate bruises and lacerations to her head and body.
She explained that she found evidence of serious bleeding under the skull which led to a 117 grammes clot.
The pathologist commented that any clot over 100 grammes put significant pressure on the brain, pushing it down into the brain stem at the top of the spinal cord which controls breathing and heart rate.
She also found evidence of bruising and scratch marks on Ms Collins’s neck “from someone trying to remove hands or put on hands” but this injury did not cause her death.
Dr Bolster said that she had taken blood and urine samples at autopsy and found Ms Collins had a blood alcohol concentration level of 123mgs per 100 mls of blood while she also found traces of prescribed medication which were all in the therapeutic or sub-therapeutic range.
The trial continues.
