By Sammie Jones-
A pathologist in the murder case of Grace Millane’s has told the jury that it is very uncommon for death to be caused by mechanical asphyxiation. that the University graduate died in an accident during consensual rough sex.
A pathologist on behalf of the prosecution in the murder trial of British backpacker Grace Millane to give evidence told the jury that the death could have been the result of between five minutes and 10 minutes of sustained pressure but says it could be between one and-a-half minutes and six minutes, as another expert has suggested.
The pathologist told the court he could not say what the minimum amount of time would be. The pathologist suggested the bruises could have been from restraints, Dr Garavan says he can’t say whether this was from consensual or non-consensual restraint.
The defendant’s lawyer, Mansfield told the court that his client’s actions to “cover-up” what happened reveals just how fearful he was that nobody would believe that the woman’s death was an accident.
“People do things when they are stressed, when they are panicked,” Mansfield told jurors. What the accused said occurred in the City Life hotel may rarely happen, but it is possible “in a consensual sexual relationship between two partners”. He says it can happen between a couple who is intoxicated and relatively inexperienced.
He said that the bruises were likely caused by some sort of restraint or compression. He said it makes sense that if someone’s arms had been restrained, there wouldn’t be defensive injuries on the neck from the person trying to claw away at someone else’s hands.
CONTRIBUTION OF ALCOHOL
Dr Garavan said alcohol contributed to causing death, but admitted he had to rely on information provided to him and doesn’t know the exact amount of alcohol consumed by Millane. Under cross-examination by prosecutor Brian Dickey, Dr Garavan says pressure would need to be applied for a significant amount of time before a person’s face goes red and then a haemorrhage occurs.
Dr Garavan explained that a bloody nose would eventually be expected to occur, and at some point, the individual would also become unconscious. Dr Garavan tells the court that it would have likely taken minutes of strangulation for Millane to have gone into a “terminal tailspin”.
MECHINICAL ASPHYXIA
Dr Garavan said he believed the primary cause of death to be “mechanical asphyxia”, with alcohol potentially being a secondary contributing factor. He says he has come to this conclusion by considering the absence of injuries to the deep muscle structure and the presence of a high amount of alcohol.
“[There is] no evidence of force, no evidence of resistance on the part of the young lady.”
Brookie highlights the amount of alcohol Millane and the accused consumed on their Tinder date before the British backpacker’s death. The jury has previously heard that during post-mortem, Millane’s blood-alcohol was 106mg, but that it may have been different at time of death. Dr Garavan believes it would have likely been higher and that alcohol may have been a “secondary factor” in the cause of death. He says, if there is a high alcohol content present in the blood, it’s like an “iceberg” making its way into a “shipping lane”.
The pathologist says if a non-consensual action or attack happened, the resulting struggle would be a dynamic action that would likely result in a deep muscle haemorrhage – there was no evidence of this with Millane’s neck
There were also no abrasions to the skin of Millane’s neck that would suggest she clawed at her neck defensively.
Asked about the alcohol consumed by Millane, Dr Garavan confirms he doesn’t know for sure how much she drank on the December 1 Tinder date. The pair shared jugs of sangria and cocktails.
The pathologist says from the last drink, the blood-alcohol level will rise for about an hour and then plateau for a period of time before dropping.
Justice Simon Moore is clarifying to the jury that murder isn’t confined just to someone intentionally killing someone or causing their death. It can also refer to reckless actions that cause bodily injury or death.