Pensioner had been hit with ornament – claims

Jan 27 2009 by Hilary Clixby, The Journal

A PENSIONER allegedly killed by her daughter had a head injury consistent with being hit with part of an ornamental horse, an expert told a murder trial jury.

Bertha Martin died a week after and prosecutors claim Jennifer Shelton struck her with the piece of pottery at the home they shared in Woodlands Road in Cleadon, South Tyneside.

Yesterday forensic scientist Geoffrey Gray told Newcastle Crown Court how an examination of the three-bedroom property was carried out to look for objects which could have caused the injury to 85-year-old Mrs Martin’s head.

He said a damaged pottery horse was found in the dining room and a hoof which fitted the back leg of the ornament was subsequently recovered from a sewing basket.

He said tests revealed the hoof corresponded with the “unusual” shape of the injury found on Mrs Martin’s head and that while at the house he saw no other object which could have caused the mark she had.

But Mr Gray – an expert in marks – accepted under cross examination that while the hoof of the horse could have caused the injury, he could not prove it conclusively. He also told the jury in his view he would not expect to see such a mark caused by a “trivial” impact in a normal person and that a degree of force would be required.

Shelton, 56, a trained nurse, denies the murder of her mother.

Prosecutors allege she had in the past been regularly abusive towards Mrs Martin – who had leukaemia – and there was considerable tension between them.

Earlier the jury heard how Shelton and her mother had had an argumentative relationship. Iris Tither, a friend of Mrs Martin for more than 50 years, said the pensioner was a strong-minded woman who despite deteriorating health, remained a woman of forceful opinions.

Mrs Tither said Mrs Martin had appeared “very frail and very thin” in the months before her death, but although she had started to go downhill remained bright and chatty.

She said Mrs Martin and Shelton would argue with each other “more nitpicking over silly things” but agreed they were never more than verbal conflicts and she thought the two women remained a deep and abiding love for each other.

Mrs Tither described how in the weeks leading up to Mrs Martin’s admission to hospital, she had noticed a change in Shelton’s behaviour and that she had been clearly unwell. The trial continues.