Husband 'hit by club before he drowned'
Black Country lorry driver Reginald Southall could have been attacked by someone wielding a club or baseball bat before he drowned in the River Severn, a murder trial was told by a Home Office pathologist.
Black Country lorry driver Reginald Southall could have been attacked by someone wielding a club or baseball bat before he drowned in the River Severn, a murder trial was told by a Home Office pathologist.
Dr Edmund Tapp said the 62-year-old suffered seven serious injuries to various parts of his body, including fractured ribs and a cheekbone. Fishermen spotted his body floating in the river at Stourport on December 16, 2007, 11 days after he had been reported missing from home.
He had lived on the Stourport Caravan Park, Redstone Lane, Stourport.
His wife Muriel, aged 60, and Michael Whitcombe, aged 59, of Four Acres Caravan Park, Worcester Road, Stourport, plead not guilty to his murder.
The prosecution allege the pair were having a sexual liaison and wanted Mr Southall, who worked for Boswells, Halesowen, out of the way so they could have his money.
Firemen launched a boat to recover the body after the fishermen initially thought it was a tailor's dummy. The river was three feet above normal with treacherous currents, Worcester Crown Court was told.
Former boatyard worker Ian Cole said he had experienced the fast under-currents when he had fallen from a canoe some years ago. He agreed with Mr Christopher Hotten, QC for Whitcombe, that it was difficult to get out because of slippery banks.
Dr Tapp said Mr Southall had sustained a large curved cut on the back of the head, which had been caused by a blunt object, possibly a club or baseball bat. His eye sockets had been fractured and there was also a double fracture in his cheekbone.
There was bruising on his neck which was consistent with someone being grabbed or having an arm put round them. Four ribs were fractured, which could be the result of kicks or punches.
Because there had been bleeding he said Mr Southall, a non-swimmer, was alive when he went into the river although he may have been unconscious.
He added: "It is likely that if someone had received such injuries, he would have been unconscious when he was at the mercy of the water."
Mr Hotten suggested that the head injuries could have been caused by Mr Southall falling backwards and striking his head on the ground. Dr Tapp said his experience showed that injuries caused to the back of the head in this way were caused by a push or blow to the face, not by a simple fall.
The trial continues.
