Hmm - few questions there! Good work on the timeline though.
Let's see how we go:
Questions for Dr. Watson:
#1 , does this indicate that the larynx is still intact, if he's able to moan?
Larynx almost certainly intact. If the larynx and/or trachea is breached, there would be a lot of gurgling noises but no moaning or other vocalization. That's severed larynx is more typical of a cut-throat injury, rather than stabbing. A slicing action across the front from one side to the other.
#2 , does this mean he's still (at least semi) conscious?
Most likely - probably fading quickly though. The so-called "instantaneous death" that the media love so much really isn't, unless it's a gunshot wound to the head, basically. And even then, it needs to be to the brain stem. A cut throat can take minutes to become unconscious, depending on the rate of bleeding.
#3 , is the description of the bleeding enough yet to speculate whether there was a severed artery in his neck?
It's possible, but more likely is that it involved the internal jugular vein. Yes, the carotid artery lies alongside the internal jugular vein, but I've seen carotids "bounce" away from stab wounds - and even from a chainsaw injury. But the internal jugular vein is much easier to damage. Again, a slicing motion would be more likely to damage the artery, although not impossible by stabbing. The other factor would be the time taken to die according to your timeline - much more in keeping with venous bleeding in general terms.
#4 , where I've guessed times above, can you suggest any corrections based on medical possibilities/impossibilities/likelihoods?
The thing that is a bit of a puzzle is the 30 minutes or so between the attack at 02:30, and the finding of the victim at 03:00 - still alive. That would suggest the bleeding wasn't catastrophic, and raises the question as to why was the victim unable to move or call for help. I gather that the smaller wounds on the back didn't do any damage, although if at least one were to have punctured a lung, then he would have had trouble breathing. But that whole 30 minutes or more between the given attack time, and when he died, seems a fairly long time. Even for significant venous bleeding, like that internal jugular. And if it was just puncture wounds to the vein, as opposed to incised wounds, then the bleeding would have been slower (more consistent with the times) but would have allowed him to put pressure on his neck and stagger out for help. That doesn't all quite fit - at least with the info we have so far.
#5 , based now on the time frame from being conscious, to being in cardiac arrest (c.10 mins), and then expiring (a further 15 - 20 mins), could you make an educated guess as to whether it was due to a severed artery in the neck?
See above - would be much more consistent with an injury to a significant vein, such as the internal jugular vein. but once again, I find it odd that the bleeding was slow enough to take so long to become unconscious and then to die, but he was unable to either call for help or to stagger out while applying pressure to his neck. Maybe there were other injuries, such as a blow to the head? But the adrenalin levels we've been told about would be consistent with a fair degree of panic, so presumably he was conscious and knew he was in danger of exsanguinating. Which of course, is what it appears he did.
#6 , based on the type of injury and the times of the events after 03.00am, can you make an educated guess as to roughly what time the stabbing most likely occurred?
Same answer, essentially. Stab wounds to the neck enough to render him unable to do anything, and to cause significant bleeding as seems to have been the case, would usually be expected to result in a quicker death. One other possibility - and this is pure speculation of course - is that one or more of the stabs entered his vertebral column and damaged his spinal cord, rendering him unable to move. As long as it was below the level of the 5th cervical vertebra (C5) he would still have been able to breathe and gurgle. Just a thought.
#7 , ignoring the reports of the stabbing being at 02.30am, can you speculate what the earliest possible and latest possible times the stabbing could have occurred?
Further than I've speculated above, not really. If I had access to the autopsy report, information about what vessels were damaged and what type of damage they suffered, if his vertebral artery was damaged in the cervical spine, if he had spinal cord damage, etc etc - then I may be in a position to speculate a tad more accurately - maybe
Hope that all makes some kind of sense :moo:
