Archie Spriggs murder trial: ‘Blocked airway’ to blame for boy’s death
A schoolboy whose mother is accused of murdering him died as a result of the blocking of his airways, a court has heard.
Archie Spriggs was found dead in his bedroom at the family’s home, in Rushbury Road, Rushbury, near Wall under Heywood, near Church Stretton on September 21 last year.
His mother Lesley Speed, 44, allegedly strangled and smothered him because she feared that his father would gain custody.
Home Office pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar told the court said he had concluded that “pressure to the neck” was one of the features that caused Archie’s death, “raising the prospect of the blocking of the nose and mouth”.
Giving evidence at Birmingham Crown Court he said the seven year old’s facial skin had “little red dots” which fell within the spectrum of asphyxia deaths.
He said there were injuries in Archie’s mouth which resulted in a large area of bruising, there was no evidence of any fractures and that his findings “did not support full suspension hanging”.
He told the court that he was aware of a police reconstruction of Archie’s bed based on the defendant’s explanation of what happened to him in her interview.
Dr Kolar said: “I considered an aspect of partial suspension hanging with a soft ligature and subsequent resuscitation to account for the oral injuries.”
“If you accept the reconstruction they seem to support full suspension ligature with the tied mark rising – that doesn’t appear to be feasible.”
Also giving evidence, consultant forensic pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary, said: “When the neck is compressed by whatever means the floor of the mouth is raised and the airways are obstructed. Heart beating is going on and of course that can go on for some minutes.
“Consciousness would be lost in tens of seconds. The person would be vulnerable anyway to airway obstruction due to their position.”
Miss Sally Howes put to him whether he had considered “a combination of mechanisms”.
“Yes. The injuries to the mouth raised the possibility of smothering of some sort whether with fabric or a hand,” Dr Cary said.
Speed told officers that she found Archie hanged. But her partner Darren Jones, who discovered the youngster dead and the defendant with cuts to her neck and arms when he arrived hone from work, told the court that she had also told him that she had killed Archie.
Speed denies murder. The trial continues.
