A MAN punched, beaten and robbed in the centre of town was left with fractures similar to those caused by a car crash, a trial has heard.
Forensic medical examiner Dr Deryn Evans described the injuries while giving evidence on the second day of the trial in the Royal Court of Mark Christopher James Goodchild (36) and 29-year-old Addison Thomas Mazurke.
The pair are accused of attacking the man and stealing his shoes.
They deny charges of grave and criminal assault and theft, though at an earlier hearing Mazurke pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of common assault.
Dr Evans said she had noticed multiple abrasions and bruises to the alleged victim’s head, shoulders, back, upper arms and knees consistent with being punched or dragged on the ground.
But she added that she had also found his collarbone had sustained “comminuted fractures”, where a bone is broken in three or more places and is unlikely to heal as readily as other fractures.
She said: “They are caused by quite significant trauma. You normally see comminuted fractures after a road-traffic collision. You don’t see these fractures very commonly. You don’t see them from a simple fall or trip.”
And she said: “I think a punch is unlikely to break a bone.”
CCTV footage of the incident, which was shown again in court yesterday, show two men involved in the attack. One has been identified as Mr Mazurke but Mr Goodchild denies being the other attacker.
However, Christopher Le Sueur, a former States police officer, said he recognised Mr Goodchild in the footage.
He told the court: “I was at primary school with him, and I interacted with him through the police.
“Mark is very tall and slim. The manner of his walk made me believe it was Mark Goodchild. Everyone’s got their own individual gait.”
Advocate Chris Baglin, defending Mr Goodchild, asked the former officer: “Do you have expertise in this area? Are you a podiatrist?”
He said: “No.”
The advocate said: “You accept this is an unclear image.”
He replied: “Yes.”
Another officer, DC Caroline Foord, read from a police interview in which Mr Mazurke at first denied the assault and denied knowing Mr Goodchild.
Mr Mazurke’s mobile phone contained a video of the alleged victim lying on the ground, apparently conscious, with two people laughing, but Mr Mazurke said in the interview that he did not know who had recorded it.
The trial is expected to last two more days.
