Shocking images from the blood-splattered flat where Aberdeen man Neil Jolly was killed have been shown to the jury in the High Court murder trial of Elizabeth Sweeney.
Numerous blood-stained items littered the flat where Sweeney, also known as Lizzy, is alleged to have murdered her former partner Neil Jolly, 49, by punching him and repeatedly striking him to the head and body with a kettle.
Sweeney, 36, is also facing an allegation that she attempted to conceal the murder by cleaning the body of Mr Jolly in a shower at his flat in Marischal Court, Aberdeen before covering his body with a duvet.
She is additionally accused of attempting to destroy evidence by cleaning the kettle.
Sweeney denies all the charges against her and has lodged a special defence of self defence.
She claims she woke up in the early hours of June 25 2023 to find Mr Jolly raping her.
Victim suffered ‘serious and severe’ brain injury
On the sixth day of trial, Jurors were shown pictures of a blood-stained and broken kettle, heavily blood-stained carpets and blood-soaked towels piled in a tub in the hallway of Mr Jolly’s flat.
Photos were also shown from inside Sweeney’s flat on Kidd Street, Aberdeen, showing a pair of blood-stained leggings on her bedroom floor and bloodstaining on the power button of her shower and bathroom door.
A postmortem examination of Mr Jolly’s brain found that he had suffered trauma similar to that of what would be seen if someone had been in a car accident or had fallen from a high height.
Dr Kevin Kinch, a consultant neuropathologist, told advocate depute Erin Campbell that Mr Jolly had suffered a “serious and severe type of brain injury caused by a sudden violent movement to the head”.
He added that the injuries found were “spread out over many, many areas of the brain”.
Sweeney’s defence advocate, Ian Duguid KC, asked Dr Kinch whether the injuries sustained by Mr Jolly were “survivable”.
“These types of injuries can cause immediate death,” the doctor replied, adding: “But I have seen instances where people have survived for a few hours or where people have been able to be kept alive on a ventilator.
“In some cases, it’s possible that someone could have a limited recovery and be severely disabled.
“In short, yes, it could be a survivable injury, but because of the damage to the brain stem the clinical outcome would be a poor survivable outcome.”
78 injuries found on Neil Jolly’s body
An autopsy report carried out by forensic pathologist Dr Ian Wilkinson concluded that the cause of Mr Jolly’s death was blunt force head and neck trauma.
His examination found a total of 78 injuries on Mr Jolly’s body “predominately on the head and neck”.
Ms Campbell asked him: “If we hear evidence to suggest that Mr Jolly could have been struck by a kettle, could that cause the injuries shown on his head and body?”
Dr Wilkinson replied: “In general terms, a kettle would be a blunt object, and if he came into contact with it in a particular force, then I don’t see why it couldn’t cause some of the injuries shown.”
The pathologist also told the court that injuries found on Mr Jolly’s arms and torso were “consistent with classic defensive type injuries”.
Dr Wilkinson said Mr Jolly’s injuries were consistent with someone who had been subjected to an assault where “injuries were in stereotyped locations”.
“That’s from individuals trying to defend themselves from blows – they are trying to ward off blows,” he added.
Defending Sweeney, Mr Duguid asked Dr Wilkinson whether the large amount of blood found in Mr Jolly’s flat could potentially have come from a laceration seen on his chin following his death.
“Yes, that’s fair,” the doctor replied, adding: “That’s the single largest laceration to the head or neck.”
The trial, before Judge Andrew Miller, continues.
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