Exclusive:Jury told Waterlooville woman's 'forceful' cause of death as murder trial continues
Stephen Sexton denies the murder and rape of Joanna Derkacz.
A jury in an ongoing murder trial have been told the exact medical nature of a woman’s death.
Stephen Sexton, 38, is on trial accused of the murder of Joanna Derkacz, as well as rape, and controlling or coercive behaviour. The 37-year-old was found dead at the couple’s home in Nevinson Way, Waterlooville on December 28, 2023. Sexton denies the charges.
At Portsmouth Crown Court today (Monday, July 6), veteran pathologist Dr Basil Purdue gave evidence from his post-mortem examination of Joanna’s body. Speaking to the jury, he admitted that he made a rare mistake in his original post-mortem.
No bruises were found around Joanna’s neck, the pathologist noted, as well as “no evidence” to suggest strangulation. Dr Purdue examined Joanna’s brain, and sent her heart off for specialist analysis.
He said: “With a young person, the two most important places to examine are the heart and the brain. I only felt the neck organs by hand when I removed them. I thought they were intact and flexible, but that turned out not to be the case.
“It was an error I’ve not made in my career before. It was an uncharacteristic error, but an important one.”
After a CT scan of Joanna’s neck, her bones were sent off to other specialist pathologists, who re-evaluated her before sending their conclusions back to Dr Purdue. Following this revelation, he determined that Joanna’s death was likely “forceful”, and was able to give a medical cause of death.
Dr Purdue said: “A CT scan showed fractures to certain parts of her voicebox. There were a number of micro-fractures, but three good-going fractures, of which there was no doubt.
“One was there to the hyoid bone, this was a full fracture. There are also displaced stacks of bone at the top of the voicebox, across the base of each horn. In my opinion, they are fully broken.
“The immediate cause of death was forceful compression of the neck, which fractured several parts of the voicebox and led to fatal interference with vital parts of the brain and heart. The implication is tthat the pressure applied is greater than the arterial pressure going to the head.
“Crucially, these injuries were sustained while she was still alive. It’s one of the most unpleasant things that can be done to you.”
(Proceeding)