A mother broke down and wept in court today as she heard evidence of how her daughter's body was found in the blood-covered basement of a disused building.
PC Nigel Beattie was one of the first officers at the scene of the murder of seven-year-old Nikki Allan more than 30 years ago.
He told how he located her body in the corner of the darkened basement of the Exchange building near her home in Hendon, Sunderland.
Nikki's mum Sharon Henderson, 56, broke down in tears in the public gallery as his statement was read to the jury. Judge Miss Justice Lambert said: "The lady who is distressed should leave the court," and she was helped outside.
Nikki had been found by a 16-year-old boy and his stepdad on October, 8 1992 - the day after she had been reported missing from her home in a housing block nearby called Wear Garth.
Obsessed mum accused neighbour of running brothel and threatened to kill her
Mum Sharon Henderson, 56, broke down in tears in the public gallery as the court heard how a policeman found her daughter's body (Newcastle Chronicle)
Nikki's body was found in the corner of a darkened basement of the Exchange building near her home in Hendon, Sunderland (PA)She had been 'brutally attacked', beaten around the head with a brick and stabbed 37 times, the jury heard. Former neighbour David Boyd, 55, is on trial for her murder.
PC Beattie entered the derelict Exchange building by climbing a tree to a boarded up window. He immediately saw a trail of blood. It was on the window ledge and led down to the spot where she lay, Newcastle crown court heard.
"I noticed several red marks on the ledge which appeared to be blood," he said. "I noticed marks on the floor and stairs caused by someone being dragged along the floor.
"As I descended the stairs, I again noticed drag marks. On entering the room, I saw the body of a child against the northern wall. The marks led to where the child was located.
"I saw the head and face of the child covered in blood. I saw her chest was also covered in blood."
The officer's 1992 statement was read by Richard Wright KC, prosecuting. Forensic expert Hilary Parkinson, who was called to the scene at the time of the murder, told how heavy blood stains in the room above the basement suggested Nikki had been attacked there.
Former neighbour David Boyd, 55, is on trial for the alleged murder in 1992 (Police Handout)
An artist's impression of the suspect following Nikki's death (PA)She said: "The marks are consistent with Nikki Allan having been assaulted in that room. At some stage... .her body was up against that wall and she had slid sideways down the wall.
"She had been struck at least once when she was on the floor there. Hair and blood stains found on the stairs indicated that she had been dragged by the legs to the spot where her body was found."
The jury saw video taken inside the building, with a blood stained brick found amid debris in that room. There were also heavy blood stains by the spot where she was found in the basement.
Ms Parkinson added: "In 1992, we were interested in fibres. If a suspect was identified in future you could see if there was any evidence of fibres from the assailant's clothing.
'My son's a drug lord - he's threatened to kill me but I still love him'
"We were also interested in blood, drips of blood which were tested as well in case the attacker was injured as well. The testing I did was traditional blood grouping, not as discriminating as DNA analysis.
"If I found a blood group different to Nikki Allan's, then I could have identified that. We were also doing DNA analysis then though nothing like these days."
Thanks to advances in forensic testing, the DNA of Boyd, 25 at the time of the murder, was found in 'multiple areas' of the clothes Nikki was wearing when she died, the court has heard.
Boyd, of Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, denies murder. The trial continues.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
