Not possible to say if woman was alive when put on bonfire

Dr Nathaniel Carey examined the charred remains of Patricia Holland whose body was said to have been destroyed by fire in a bonfire at her Gorleston home in July 2021.

Allan Scott, 42, who was homeless, and had been taken in by Mrs Holland, has gone on trial at Norwich Crown Court accused of her murder.

Giving evidence on Tuesday (March 14) was Dr Carey who conducted a post mortem examination with a number of other experts, including forensic anthropologists, in August 2021.

Dr Carey said it was "quite an unusual sort of case" which "lent itself to a joint examination" of the remains.

He said of the "charred fragments" they examined experts had to "establish which, if any, were human".

Dr Carey said DNA analysis gave "extremely strong support" that the remains were from Mrs Holland although it was not possible to say whether she was "dead or alive" when she was put on the fire.

He said the remains indicated "deliberate destruction of the body" not just through fire but also evidence of "manipulation of remains during the burning process".

The forensic pathologist said while destruction of the body through burning was not in itself unusual "manipulation of the remains of the bones" makes it even rarer.

He said cause of death is "unascertained" due to there being "no intact body on which to make an assessment".

But Dr Carey said through blood spatter evidence in the case it was possible to say she may have been subjected to a "violent" assault".

Scott, of no fixed address, but formerly of Lowestoft Road, Gorleston, denies murder.

The trial continues.