An alleged murder victim suffered 32 stab wounds including one so deep it almost exited the other side of her body, a trial has heard.
Neomi Smith died after being found seriously injured in Brechin on June 9 last year.
Her boyfriend Keith Rizzo is accused of murdering her by stabbing and choking her at a property in Swan Street.
Yesterday, the High Court in Glasgow heard details about the injuries the 23-year-old care worker suffered, and were shown images of the kitchen where she was found.
The jury heard Miss Smith, originally from Aberdeen, had died from a combination of 32 blunt force injuries to the head and 32 stab wounds – the majority of which were to her neck. There were also wounds to her upper back, buttocks, arms and chest.
Pathologist Dr Tamara McNamee, who carried out the post-mortem, said one of the wounds on the upper back was three inches deep and had almost exited her esopohagus, and noted other wounds of around seven inches one side of her neck to the other.
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She added that Miss Smith had also been strangled so hard, she had suffered small fractures to the bone of the neck.
The court heard it was likely Miss Smith – who had been drinking heavily – had suffered a traumatic brain injury and fallen to the floor, where she was then stabbed as she lay face down.
Ms McNamee said she believed she had been punched, or been hit repeatedly with a hard object.
Forensic scientist Jacqueline Sharp told the court that Miss Smith had been hit repeatedly at a low height, and that the fridge freezer doors had dents in them.
She also said there was broken glass on the floor which appeared to have come from the fridge shelves.
On Tuesday, the trial heard DNA samples matching Rizzo’s had been found on the alleged murder weapons.
But defence counsel Donald Findlay QC suggested yesterday that the DNA said “nothing of the circumstances in which it ended up on an object” or the “length of time it had been on it”.
At the closure of the prosecution’s case yesterday, the Crown withdrew seven of the 10 charges facing Rizzo.
These centred on accusations he assaulted three former partners and judge Lady Rae found him not guilty of these charges.
Rizzo remains accused of murdering Ms Smith and assaulting her to the danger of her life sometime between May 9 and May 30 at her Swan Street flat.
He also remains accused of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at Hudsons Bar, Brechin on June 9.
