Found Deceased NEW ZEALAND - Grace Millane, 22, British backpacker, Auckland, 1 Dec 2018 *Arrest* #2

[jamjim]

Stables told the court he conducted a quick examination inside the suitcase, because it was partly open, and confirmed there was a person inside - a young woman.

It was then taken to the mortuary and kept in a locked fridge.

The woman's wrists were then swabbed for DNA before her body was later "very carefully" extracted from the suitcase, Stables said.

A photograph booklet showing Stables' examination was at this stage distributed to the jury.

Justice Simon Moore warned them "for obvious reasons aspects of those photographs are disturbing".

Stables then began describing his examination and said he noticed a bruise on the front left shoulder, partly over the collarbone, of the woman - later identified as Millane.

He told the court the injury occurred before her death.

Grace Millane murder trial: Tinder match tells jury of 'terrifying' sexual encounter with accused

 

[jamjim]

I am jaw dropped at some of the stuff Ron Mansfield is quoted as saying. She could have left before he smothered her? It is like a weird tesseract back in time how archaic the crap he comes out with. I understand he has to attack her credibility, I’m a lawyer tho not a criminal one and I get that, but some of the stuff he’s saying...he’s virtually advocating for a world where there’s a free for all for guys who want to kill women during sexual activity. As long as the woman somewhere along the line consented to being on a date with the guy.

And the testimony the defendant claimed he had cancer... he’s like a manipulative behavior textbook

I know, I'm all riled up now after reading his questioning of her!

I thought exactly the same, he's like a textbook case of a manipulator. Also the claim that he's related to a famous sports player. AND the crying when he doesn't get his way.

 

[jamjim]

Court has resumed.

Before the break, pathologist Dr Simon Stables used the photos to explain injuries present on Grace's body to the jury.

He said the nature of the injuries meant they occurred before she died.

They included bruises on the top of her shoulder, underneath the collarbone.

There were other bruises on the side and back of the shoulder, and two on her left arm.

"Again, all these are injuries before her death," he said.

Grace Millane murder trial: Accused's past Tinder date back on the stand

 

[Mariposa]

This below on the defense’s part —-doesn’t really hurt the witness’s credibility in my view. It’s been reported that he’s acted semi hysterical in court, it’s apparently part and parcel of his manipulative behavior pattern and his go-to mode when challenged.

Under-cross examination, defence lawyer Ron Mansfield asked the witness about a part of the exchange he says she left out in her evidence yesterday.

"You described his tone as accusing and quite cold ... but you didn't tell us yesterday that he broke down and cried," he said.

"When he broke down like that, did you say to him: 'Of course I don't think you meant to do that, you're not a horrible person'? That is what you told police, correct?" Mansfield asked her.

 

[jamjim]

Grace had several bruises on her body discovered during the post mortem examination, they included:

• Front of the left shoulder
• Outside of left upper arm
• Back of left shoulder
• Inside left upper arm
• Inside left elbow
• Three on right elbow

The injuries to her upper arms are "concerning" because they are consistent with "restraint" bruises, pathologist Dr Simon Stables tell the jury.

The bruises on the shoulder - could be a restraint too if you have someone heavy putting weight on that shoulder, he added.

"One possible explanation for the injuries is that they are all related."

The three bruises on the right elbow are consistent with "finger bruising", where fingers have grabbed those areas of the arm with sufficient force to leave bruising.

There were some bruises on her thighs and calf, but some of these bruises were different colours which means they could be older.

Putting a date on when the bruises were caused is notoriously difficult, Stables said.

But he said most of the bruises were the same colour which means they probably occurred at the same time.

These injuries are consistent with an event that happened on December 1, he confirmed to Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey.

Grace Millane murder trial: Accused's past Tinder date back on the stand

 

[jamjim]

Grace Millane's mum, Gillian Millane, weeps as details of injuries found on her daughter's body are read out.

Grace Millane murder trial: Accused's past Tinder date back on the stand

 

[Tortoise]

I hope there are pictures of Grace taken that day which show her arms clear of bruising. Assuming the defence is going to typically go with "you can't date these bruises".

 

[jamjim]

12.10pm

Stables continued describing his examination after the morning break and said he found injuries which he said were consistant with restraint.

Of "significance" was bruising on the left side of Millane's neck, he said.

This injury would normal be a result of pressure over a "sufficient period of time and with sufficient force", Stables said.

"It's not going to happen through a gentle touch of the neck," he explained.


Stables said he determined Millane had died from "pressure on the neck".

Three small red bruises were also found on the inside of Millane's right upper arm, just above the elbow.

And the expert Crown witness said he discovered what could be "fingertip bruising".

"If someone has grabbed on the arm, if there is sufficient force, the fingers may leave brusing," he explained.

There were some bruises to Millane's thighs and inner legs and a faint bruise to her left calf.

But dating bruises, Stables said, is notoriously difficult but added it was extremely hard to bruise a body post-mortem.

He said Millane's brusing was "probably around the time of death" and the pattern was consistent with "some sort of restraint".

"We can't be exact, it's just impossible," he said of trying to date the injuries.

Grace Millane murder trial: Pathologist tells jury backpacker died from 'pressure on the neck'

 

[Tortoise]

Actually I've just re-watched the footage of them in the lift and her elbows are very clearly not bruised.

 

[jamjim]

The post-mortem examination revealed deep internal bruising of Grace's neck.

Stables said the bruising happened before she died.

The bruising is consistent with sufficient pressure on the neck, applied with enough force and long enough for it to occur, Stables said.

"I can't say how long that would take. But it's not just going to happen, it has to have some force."

Pathologist Dr Simon Stables uses his body to show the jury where the bruises were found on Grace's body.

Grace Millane murder trial: Injuries found on backpacker's body

 

[LucyRocket]

The pathologist confirms there were no cuts or abrasions seen on the body at the time of examination. However, he says these can be difficult to detect due to decomposition. He wouldn't have been able to pick up a split lip or blood nose, for example.

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Tinder match returns to court, pathologist gives evidence

 

[jamjim]

12.30pm

Dr Simon Stables, a forensic pathologist, said he hadn't seen many cases in New Zealand of death due to manual strangulation.

"We don't see many cases of homicide due to manual strangulation," he told the court.

Also rare, he said, were cases of strangulation due to erotic asphyxiation.

"They are usually of auto-erotic asphyxia," he said, but added the person will usually have "some form of escape mechanism".

Grace Millane murder trial: Pathologist tells jury backpacker died from 'pressure on the neck'

 

[Jaw]

12:25pm - The pathologist says bleeding from the nose after pressure is applied to the neck can happen, but it's very rare. The decomposition of Millane's face also made this difficult to come to a conclusion about.

Dr Stables says the cause of death was pressure to the neck. This could be from manual strangulation (hand on neck causing pressure), a rope or belt or other object on the neck, a chokehold (neck in someone's inner elbow area), or a forearm hold (pushing forearm into neck).

He can't exclude any of those four mechanisms being responsible for the death.

Grace Millane murder trial: Live updates as Tinder match returns to court, pathologist gives evidence

 

[jamjim]

Pathologist Dr Simon Stables tells the court pressure to the neck starves the brain of oxygen, resulting in death.

Grace's injuries were consistent with prolonged force, he said.

Grace Millane murder trial: Injuries found on backpacker's body

 

[jamjim]

Defence lawyer Ian Brookie said Grace's cause of death was not disputed.

But he claimed a bruise wasn't evidence of consensual or non-consensual activity.

"No it isn't. I can only give my opinion on the bruise that is there," pathologist Dr Simon Stables replied.

It is also difficult to say how much force was applied, as some people bruise more easily than others, Brookie suggested.

"Yes that's true, but a 22-year-old woman with no medical history, I wouldn't expect to bruise easily," Stables replied.

"But you can't tell if that is a consensual bruise or not," Brookie said.

Grace Millane murder trial: Injuries found on backpacker's body

 

[Legally Bland]

I hope there are pictures of Grace taken that day which show her arms clear of bruising. Assuming the defence is going to typically go with "you can't date these bruises".

Would the bruises have been visible when the accused took pictures of Grace?

 

[Mariposa]

Consensual bruises, consensual deep bruising on the neck sufficient to kill..... ok

 

[jamjim]

1.00pm

Dr Simon Stables, a forensic pathologist, is now under cross-examination by the accused's lead counsel Ian Brookie.

Brookie's line of questioning is proposing his client's account of how Millane died - a sexual encounter gone horribly wrong.

He has told the court the accused accepts Millane died from pressure to her neck, but denies intending to cause her fatal harm.

He asked Stables if he could tell whether the injuries found on Millane's body were "consensual bruises".


Stables said it was impossible to tell, but agreed with Brookie when asked if the injuries might have occurred during rough sex.

Grace Millane murder trial: Pathologist tells jury backpacker died from 'pressure on the neck'

 

[jamjim]

Off to bed for me! See you tomorrow.

 

[Tortoise]

Thank you jamjim.