Pathologist tells murder trial of "highly unusual" injuries to deceased

A consultant pathologist with 28 years' experience told the Central Criminal Court that she had never encountered injuries of the type found on a man discovered dead at his Letterkenny home in May 2013. Dr Alison Armour gave evidence at the trial of Krzystof Grzegorski, aged 22, and Dariusz Weckowicz, aged 51, both of Letterkenny, charged with the murder of Bogdan Michalkiewicz. Mr Grzegorski has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, a plea rejected by the State. Mr Weckowicz has pleaded not guilty. Dr Armour identified at least 46 injuries to the head and face, including stab wounds and injuries consistent with blunt force trauma. She documented multiple stab wounds to the stomach, two penetrating the liver, fractured ribs, and severe fractures to the skull and facial bones. The deceased bore a severed throat and nine stab wounds to the back of the tongue, which she described as extraordinarily unusual. She concluded that three separate injuries would have been sufficient to cause death, with the overall assault being sustained and violent.