strangle her without making so many marks on her neck - she was probably finding it hard to breathe anyway.’
Dan nodded, it seemed plausible. ‘So the assailant should have some bruising or scratch marks, too.’
Fox completed his external examination. ‘I need to look at her trachea and thyroid area closely, so that is what we shall do now. I’ll make the first cut vertically down the centre of her neck.’
Dan swallowed. He was never very good at this sort of thing. He sneaked a quick look at Sally. She looked a bit green too, although it could have been the light reflecting off the gowns. Dr Fox was opening the girl’s neck and he watched, fascinated, as he used a scalpel to open the trachea. He swallowed again, and saw Sally concentrate on counting the number of individual bulbs in the arc light above their heads. Only Bill Larcombe seemed unaffected by the scene, as he bagged evidence in the corner.
Fox sliced through the neck cartilage and brought bloodied fingers out from her neck, lifting the trachea and thyroid glands onto a dish. The room was silent then, as Fox examined the trachea. He searched for the small, horseshoe-shaped hyoid bone.
‘In an adult this little bone would be broken in most types of strangulation, which makes the diagnosis simple. It’s harder to see in a teenager as the bone doesn’t fuse across the larynx until adulthood, but you never know, it could help.’ His assistant took photographs of the organ, as Fox dissected the individual rings of the trachea.
They waited. Dan could feel a terrible need to run around the room shouting. The quiet, the concentration, the waiting was killing him.
Eventually, Fox spoke again, ‘The condition of the trachea and larynx suggests that the victim was asphyxiated from behind. I have found damage to several sections of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone.’
Dan nodded. It was what he expected. He saw Sally nod, too. It confirmed her idea that the girl had been turned over, or that she had been caught trying to run away. There was no doubt now, if anybody had harboured one, Carly Braithwaite had been murdered.
The doctor continued, ‘Her assailant was right handed. The damage to the thyroid cartilage is worse on the left side of the neck where he or she could exert most pressure. The hand imprint across her mouth was from the left hand. Likely the assailant was wearing something soft on his or her arms which lessened the imprint on the girl’s skin but maximised the area of suffocation.’
Dan interrupted, ‘Like a hoody or a fleece?’
‘That is a possibility. Something that would not leave much of an impression. In order for asphyxiation to occur, the assailant would either have needed to hold on for at least five minutes, which is a long time, or to have struck lucky and stopped blood flow through the carotid artery or the jugular vein at the same time as preventing air getting in through the throat. In those circumstances death can happen in seconds.’
‘Could it have been an accident?’ asked Sally.
‘Aye, that is also possible.’ The pathologist scratched his beard. ‘But the girl was killed from behind, rather than face to face, which would make it a rather unlikely accident.’
He washed the blood from his gloves in the porcelain sink and leant his bulk against it as he concluded his examination.
‘I estimate the time of death as somewhere between 4.00 pm and midnight. I’ll be able to tell you more when I have been able to study the results. Ye’ll have my report and the sample results by the end of the day if we can manage it.’
Dan thanked him. They left the pathologist to complete his work, they had what they needed for now. Bill Larcombe collected his evidence and followed them out of the room.
‘Coffee?’
Bill shook his head. ‘No thanks, sir, I’ll get this lot back and process it. See you later.’
Dan looked at his DS. She was paler than usual. They both needed a few minutes to catch their
Dan nodded, it seemed plausible. ‘So the assailant should have some bruising or scratch marks, too.’
Fox completed his external examination. ‘I need to look at her trachea and thyroid area closely, so that is what we shall do now. I’ll make the first cut vertically down the centre of her neck.’
Dan swallowed. He was never very good at this sort of thing. He sneaked a quick look at Sally. She looked a bit green too, although it could have been the light reflecting off the gowns. Dr Fox was opening the girl’s neck and he watched, fascinated, as he used a scalpel to open the trachea. He swallowed again, and saw Sally concentrate on counting the number of individual bulbs in the arc light above their heads. Only Bill Larcombe seemed unaffected by the scene, as he bagged evidence in the corner.
Fox sliced through the neck cartilage and brought bloodied fingers out from her neck, lifting the trachea and thyroid glands onto a dish. The room was silent then, as Fox examined the trachea. He searched for the small, horseshoe-shaped hyoid bone.
‘In an adult this little bone would be broken in most types of strangulation, which makes the diagnosis simple. It’s harder to see in a teenager as the bone doesn’t fuse across the larynx until adulthood, but you never know, it could help.’ His assistant took photographs of the organ, as Fox dissected the individual rings of the trachea.
They waited. Dan could feel a terrible need to run around the room shouting. The quiet, the concentration, the waiting was killing him.
Eventually, Fox spoke again, ‘The condition of the trachea and larynx suggests that the victim was asphyxiated from behind. I have found damage to several sections of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone.’
Dan nodded. It was what he expected. He saw Sally nod, too. It confirmed her idea that the girl had been turned over, or that she had been caught trying to run away. There was no doubt now, if anybody had harboured one, Carly Braithwaite had been murdered.
The doctor continued, ‘Her assailant was right handed. The damage to the thyroid cartilage is worse on the left side of the neck where he or she could exert most pressure. The hand imprint across her mouth was from the left hand. Likely the assailant was wearing something soft on his or her arms which lessened the imprint on the girl’s skin but maximised the area of suffocation.’
Dan interrupted, ‘Like a hoody or a fleece?’
‘That is a possibility. Something that would not leave much of an impression. In order for asphyxiation to occur, the assailant would either have needed to hold on for at least five minutes, which is a long time, or to have struck lucky and stopped blood flow through the carotid artery or the jugular vein at the same time as preventing air getting in through the throat. In those circumstances death can happen in seconds.’
‘Could it have been an accident?’ asked Sally.
‘Aye, that is also possible.’ The pathologist scratched his beard. ‘But the girl was killed from behind, rather than face to face, which would make it a rather unlikely accident.’
He washed the blood from his gloves in the porcelain sink and leant his bulk against it as he concluded his examination.
‘I estimate the time of death as somewhere between 4.00 pm and midnight. I’ll be able to tell you more when I have been able to study the results. Ye’ll have my report and the sample results by the end of the day if we can manage it.’
Dan thanked him. They left the pathologist to complete his work, they had what they needed for now. Bill Larcombe collected his evidence and followed them out of the room.
‘Coffee?’
Bill shook his head. ‘No thanks, sir, I’ll get this lot back and process it. See you later.’
Dan looked at his DS. She was paler than usual. They both needed a few minutes to catch their
Similar Books
