TIA Sharp – the schoolgirl whose body was put in a bag and hidden in a loft - probably died from being suffocated, the Old Bailey heard today.
Alleged murderer Stuart Hazell claims the 12-year-old died after accidentally falling down the stairs.
But pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl told jurors he found no obvious wounds, natural disease or signs of accidental death when he carried out a post mortem on Tia's body, found a week after she was reported missing.
There were "no obvious signs" of sexual assault but he told the jury that it could not be ruled out.
He said the most likely cause of death was some form of suffocation and cited 'burking,' a reference to 19th Century murders by Burke and Hare.
The pathologist said Tia's body was too badly decomposed to be "sure", but it was well-preserved enough to rule out certain other causes.
Tia's body was found in the loft of the home that Hazell shared with her grandmother, Christine Bicknell, in The Lindens, New Addington, on August 10 last year.
Dr Fegan-Earl told the jury: "Having excluded various forms of violence, I come to the various forms of asphyxia that may cause death.
"Taking into account the case as a whole as presented to me, some form of suffocation or chest compression would appear to be the most likely cause of death."
The court heard separately today from a Belmarsh prison officer who said Hazell, 37, had told him Tia died after falling down the stairs.
Dr Fegan-Earl said he could find no injuries consistent with such a fall.
"A fall downstairs which would be sufficient to cause death would cause a number of injuries, external or internal," he added.
"While there was decomposition, no clear evidence of gashes or cuts like that to support a fall as one would expect.
"Similarly, when we think about how one dies when one falls down the stairs, most frequently it is as a result of either head injury or crack to the neck.
"Throughout my examination, I could find no evidence of injuries that would suggest an accidental cause of death."
The pathologist found no signs the 12-year-old had been drinking alcohol or had taken drugs before she died.
Jurors were shown pictures of Tia's body wrapped in a bedsheet and then in bin bags. Hazell appeared unwilling to look at the photos and instead stared at the floor.
Prosecutors claim Hazell, who denies murder, killed Tia in a sexually motivated attack and say he took a photo of her dead body in a sexual pose.
Dr Fegan-Earl said he thought the photo, first shown to jurors on Tuesday, was of a dead body, possibly Tia's.
He said: "When I saw the photograph, there were changes in the body that suggested to me the individual was dead.
"It is certainly possible that it is Tia Sharp. It would be consistent with a child of that age."
Hazell's lawyer Lord Carlile QC suggested a natural cause of death such as a brain haemorrhage might not necessarily have been detected in Tia's case.
Dr Fegan-Earl said: "I would not agree with that. Haemorrhage causes a significant change in appearance to the brain."
(Report by Rachel Millard)
Alleged murderer Stuart Hazell claims the 12-year-old died after accidentally falling down the stairs.
But pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl told jurors he found no obvious wounds, natural disease or signs of accidental death when he carried out a post mortem on Tia's body, found a week after she was reported missing.
There were "no obvious signs" of sexual assault but he told the jury that it could not be ruled out.
He said the most likely cause of death was some form of suffocation and cited 'burking,' a reference to 19th Century murders by Burke and Hare.
The pathologist said Tia's body was too badly decomposed to be "sure", but it was well-preserved enough to rule out certain other causes.
Tia's body was found in the loft of the home that Hazell shared with her grandmother, Christine Bicknell, in The Lindens, New Addington, on August 10 last year.
Dr Fegan-Earl told the jury: "Having excluded various forms of violence, I come to the various forms of asphyxia that may cause death.
"Taking into account the case as a whole as presented to me, some form of suffocation or chest compression would appear to be the most likely cause of death."
The court heard separately today from a Belmarsh prison officer who said Hazell, 37, had told him Tia died after falling down the stairs.
Dr Fegan-Earl said he could find no injuries consistent with such a fall.
"A fall downstairs which would be sufficient to cause death would cause a number of injuries, external or internal," he added.
"While there was decomposition, no clear evidence of gashes or cuts like that to support a fall as one would expect.
"Similarly, when we think about how one dies when one falls down the stairs, most frequently it is as a result of either head injury or crack to the neck.
"Throughout my examination, I could find no evidence of injuries that would suggest an accidental cause of death."
The pathologist found no signs the 12-year-old had been drinking alcohol or had taken drugs before she died.
Jurors were shown pictures of Tia's body wrapped in a bedsheet and then in bin bags. Hazell appeared unwilling to look at the photos and instead stared at the floor.
Prosecutors claim Hazell, who denies murder, killed Tia in a sexually motivated attack and say he took a photo of her dead body in a sexual pose.
Dr Fegan-Earl said he thought the photo, first shown to jurors on Tuesday, was of a dead body, possibly Tia's.
He said: "When I saw the photograph, there were changes in the body that suggested to me the individual was dead.
"It is certainly possible that it is Tia Sharp. It would be consistent with a child of that age."
Hazell's lawyer Lord Carlile QC suggested a natural cause of death such as a brain haemorrhage might not necessarily have been detected in Tia's case.
Dr Fegan-Earl said: "I would not agree with that. Haemorrhage causes a significant change in appearance to the brain."
(Report by Rachel Millard)
