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Expert in Michael Spalding murder trial: Rib was broken with force

A fractured rib suffered by a suspected murder victim would have been caused by a kick or a hard punch, a trial heard.

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Professor Anthony Freemont, who specialises in bone pathology at Manchester University, told Birmingham Crown Court the injury to the left fifth rib of Smethwick man Michael Spalding, aged 39, was unlikely to have been caused by a fall.

Mr Freemont, who is an expert in bone and joint pathology, examined parts of his right and left ribs after Mr Spalding's decomposing body was found dumped in a canal near Icknield Port Road, Birmingham on May 12.

Michelle Bird, aged 35, and Lorenzo Simon, aged 34, of Oxford Road, Smethwick have denied murdering Mr Spalding and dismembering his body before dumping it in the canal.

Mr Freemont said the injury to the section of left rib happened within a 12 hour period before he died.

He said there was evidence of bleeding indicating the heart was still pumping, while there was also fibrin present in his tissue, which is a protein involved in the clotting of blood.

He said though he was suffering from the disease osteoporosis, which can cause weakening of the bones and an increased risk of fracture, he still had a full bone structure and therefore a significant force would have been named to cause the rib fracture.

"The force that would have been required to do that would have been a kick or a hard punch, or even a stick or a bat. That amount of force would have been necessary.

"I think it unlikely that the fracture would have sustained by a fall. I think it would have depended on the nature of the fall. I think it much more likely that it would have been a punch impact," Mr Freemont added.

Forensic scientist Adam Wilson examined marks left on bones found at the canal, including the thigh bone of Mr Spalding's left leg and his left and right long arm bones to determine what instrument had caused the injuries.

He was also provided with tools discovered at the scene, including a rubber handled claw hammer, a wooden handled carving knife and a yellow handled handsaw.

He decided all three bones had been cut by the saw, while scans of the bones shown to the court showed indentation in the bone indicating a 'false start' where an aborted attempt had been made to slice through the bone.

The scans also highlighted other damage to the left long arm bone, which Mr Wilson believed may have been caused by the use of some other physical force.

The trial continues.

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