Pathologist: Samara Bristol died from blunt force trauma

A forensic pathologist has told a High Court jury that 30-year-old Samara Bristol died from blunt force trauma to the head, rejecting suggestions that her injuries could have been caused by a single blow or a fall.

As the murder trial of Roger Delisle Sealy of Airy Cot, St Thomas continued in the No. 4 Supreme Court on Thursday, Dr Shubhakar Karra Paul spoke of his findings from a post-mortem on the woman’s body on November 25, 2021.  

Sealy has pleaded not guilty to murdering Bristol between November 16 and 21, 2021.  

Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Senior Counsel Alliston Seale and State Counsel Paul Prescod are prosecuting the case, while defence counsel Sian Lange represents Sealy.  

Stating that the body was in a highly decomposed state, Dr Karra Paul said that the facial and skull bones on the right side of the face showed multiple comminuted fractures, explaining that this meant that the bones had shattered into multiple pieces. He stated that the fractures ran upwards and backwards behind the right ear.  

“The skull fracture was caused by a heavy and blunt object. Ms Bristol had received a single blow by a heavy and blunt object over the right side of her head causing concussion and her to fall to the ground. She was then repeatedly struck multiple times over the right side of the head causing her facial and skull bones to fragment. This type of injury will result in fatality as her brain was lacerated and hemorrhaged, causing her death immediately.”

The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, the pathologist said. 

Dr Paul rejected the notion that the injuries could have been caused by a single blow: “If it was a single blow, it would have caused a fracture line but because she received multiple blows, the skull bone started to fragment into multiple pieces. So that is why she did not receive only one blow but received multiple blows.”  

The multiple fragments could not have happened by falling and hitting her head, he said. 

Next on the witness stand was Rohan Whittington, who said that on November 16, 2021, he was liming outside his aunt’s house with other people when he heard a scream.  

“I can’t really say (where it came from) but it did sound like it come from the house next to my aunt’s,” he testified.  

He said the house was owned by Samantha but could not recall her last name, referring to Samantha Bristol, Samara’s mother. He added that Samantha “does come and go” from America.  

“After that, everybody decide to go home,” he stated, adding that he returned to his house.  

The witness recalled that later he left home to go to his girlfriend’s house, which was near Samantha’s house, but turned back after he saw a yellow and black truck “cross de gap”.  

Whittington said that no one was in the truck but he had seen it before driven by the accused.  

“I turn back and went back home. It was only me and I didn’t want to put myself in nothing,” he said.  

He testified that after the truck left, he walked up the road and saw what looked like a red liquid in the road and, after he passed, a fire truck and police arrived.  

on by Lange, Whittington said that at that time Sealy was staying with Samantha “because he was helping her to build the house.”  

The witness admitted he was not completely certain where the scream came from because “we heard the scream only once.”  

The trial continues on Monday.

(JB)