Rachel O'Reilly tried to defend herself as she was struck on the head a number of times, suffering a fractured skull which caused her death, a murder trial jury heard yesterday.
State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy told a jury at the Central Criminal Court that Ms O'Reilly died from head injuries. "She had been struck several times on the head, fracturing her skull."
It was the sixth day of the trial of Joe O'Reilly (35), Lambay View, Baldarragh, The Naul, Co Dublin, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife Rachel (30) at the family home on October 4th, 2004.
Dr Cassidy said Ms O'Reilly had eight lacerations on the top and back of her head. "These could be caused by a minimum of four separate blows or up to nine separate blows."
She said injuries to the forehead indicated that Ms O'Reilly could have been standing upright when she was struck. The injuries to the back of the head and below the right ear were consistent with the fracture of the skull, and indicated that they were due to forceful and heavy blows from a weapon.
"These would have been caused when she was on the ground."
She said the left side of her head would have been on the ground while the blows were struck to the right side of her head.The injuries behind the ear would have rendered her unconscious and "while unconscious she would have inhaled blood".
"She appeared to have made some attempt to defend herself as there were injuries to her arms as she attempted to avoid the blows." .
Dr Cassidy said Ms O'Reilly may have tried to elude her attacker. "The head injuries would not have caused immediate death, and she could have lain unconscious for some hours prior to her dying."
Dr Cassidy said there was no evidence of sexual assault, and in her opinion "death was due to blunt force trauma to her head, skull fracture, complications from inhalation of blood and scalp contusions".
Dr Cassidy said gardaí showed her a wooden spar for decking from outside the O'Reilly house. "This type of implement or something similar could have caused the injuries to the head."
She estimated the time of death at about midday on October 4th, but with the margin of error death could have been between 9am and 3pm.
Dr Cassidy said she carried out a preliminary examination of the body at the scene. There was a pool of blood under her head and to the side of her head, indicating that her head had moved position once she was injured.
When she carried out the postmortem she noted that the injuries were confined to the head and arms. There were extensive injuries to the head, with eight lacerations or skin splits to the scalp.
There was a fracture to the right side and back of the skull consistent with bleeding and damage to the brain and there was extensive bruising to the right side of the face.
Dr Cassidy said there was a T-shaped wound at the right side of the back of the scalp. There was also "a linear fracture of the back of the skull and continued frontwards, going from the right to the left and ending at the upper margin of the right eye socket".
There were blood spatters and smears coating the right forearm and blood smears on the left thumb. There were other injuries on her arms, including bruises and scratches.