Julia James murder trial: PCSO had 'completely unsurvivable' injuries

Police community support officer Julia James died from "completely unsurvivable" head injuries, a court has been told.

Callum Wheeler, 22, has admitted responsibility for the death of Mrs James in Ackholt Wood in Snowdown, Kent, in April last year.

Forensic pathologist Dr Olaf Biedrzycki told Canterbury Crown Court she was "subjected to a very violent and sustained assault to the head".

Mr Wheeler denies murdering Mrs James.

Dr Biedrzycki told the jury that in the many years he had been conducting post-mortem examinations, "the degree of head injuries is amongst the worst that I've seen".

"The injuries were completely unsurvivable even with immediate medical intervention," he said.

"Her death would've been very, very quick."

Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC asked him whether the injuries were consistent with the metal railway jack with which Mr Wheeler is alleged to have beaten the mother-of-two to death, to which Dr Biedrzycki replied: "Yes."

Jurors were shown a replica of the tool - a 97cm-long cylindrical bar used to lift train tracks.

The jurors were also shown footage from the body-worn camera of PC Ben Redpath, in which Mr Wheeler could be heard swearing at the arresting officers through his bedroom door as they tried to enter on 7 May 2021.

When officers forced open the door at his home in Aylesham in Kent and handcuffed Wheeler, he told them: "I didn't do it."

PC Redpath told the jury that Mr Wheeler later said to the custody officer at Maidstone police station: "Sometimes I do things I cannot control."

Bloodstains matching the DNA of Mrs James were found on items seized from Mr Wheeler's home, the jury was told.

The court was read agreed facts about scientific evidence from the crime scene and the defendant's possessions which were examined by forensic scientist Stephen Paddock.

Mrs James' DNA was detected on a pair of Mr Wheeler's muddy black Nike trainers, as well as on a metal railway jack.

The forensic expert had concluded "the bar had been used to assault Julia James", prosecutor Ms Morgan told the court.

Pieces of adhesive from the jack were found in Mrs James' hair while Mr Wheeler's DNA was found on her jacket and white vest, the court also heard.

Earlier in the hearing jurors were shown an image of Mr Wheeler, 22, carrying a blue holdall with a long object poking out of it, covered with carrier bags.

Prosecutors say the object was the railway jack that Mr Wheeler used to bludgeon Mrs James to death while she was out walking her Jack Russel dog, Toby.

There will be no evidence on behalf of Mr Wheeler, defence barrister Oliver Blunt QC told the judge.

The trial continues.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].