Mother was stabbed 15 times
A total of 15 stab wounds were inflicted on a Staffordshire woman allegedly murdered by her estranged husband, jurors have been told.
One of the stabs went through her neck and another through her chest which together killed 61-year-old Diane Ingram. Pathologist Dr Edmund Tapp told Stafford crown court yesterday that the wounds were caused by something like a screwdriver.
After carrying out a post mortem examination, he said he was shown a screwdriver by police officers investigating the case.
Mr Philip Parker QC, prosecuting, said there would be no dispute that Mrs Ingram's DNA was on the screwdriver.
The prosecution alleges that the mother of four was killed by Harold Ingram the day before he was due to hand over a £133,000 divorce settlement payout.
Her body was found in her flat in Avon Road, Cannock on March 13, this year. Ingram, aged 63, of Don Grove, Cannock, denies murder.
Dr Tapp detailed the injuries Mrs Ingram had suffered. She had two stab wounds to the neck, three around her left breast, four on her left arm, three on her left hand and three on her right arm.
One of the stabs went in behind her right ear.
Dr Tapp said: "She died from haemorrhaging, from the stab wound to the neck which went into her spine and the one which went into her lung," he said.
The doctor said the stabs to her arms were consistent with defensive injuries where she had put her arms up to protect herself.
Under cross-examination from Mr Rex Tedd QC, defending, Dr Tapp said all the injuries could have been caused in a very short space of time: "I'm not saying seconds, a minute perhaps."
Mr Ingram was famously captured on a bus's CCTV camera reading a copy of the Express & Star about his wife's murder.
The couple had been married for more than 40 years.
The trial continues.
