A jury who heard evidence in the trial of a man accused of murdering Lorraine Cox in Exeter was told that she was unlikely to have died from an episode of diabetes.
Failed asylum seeker Azam Mangori, age 24, from Mary Arches Street in Exeter – also known as Christopher Mayer – is on trial in Exeter Crown Court denying murder.
He pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of 32-year-old Miss Cox.
Medical expert Dr. Paul McNally informed the jury that the likelihood that Miss Cox would die of complications from her type 1 diabetes in Mangori’s room above the Bodrum Kebab House in the early hours of September 1, 2020 was “extremely low”.
And the diabetes advisor said he believed Miss Cox’s death was not due to ketoacidosis – a life-threatening set of symptoms that can take up to 12 hours to develop and which can lead to a diabetic coma.
Dr. McNally said the likelihood of Miss Cox suffering sudden cardiac death, which may be linked to diabetes, is “extremely small”.
He told the court how a hypoglycemic diabetic – when blood sugar levels drops below normal levels – can pass out, be brain injured, but stay alive because the heartbeat stops beating.
He said Miss Cox did not experience hypoglycemia on the night of her death.
He said the chance was “lower” because she had a kebab an hour to an hour and a half before her last live visit, which would “significantly affect” the glucose in her blood.
Dr. Mc Nally, who based his findings on toxicological reports, said, “I think ketoacidosis does not explain Lorraine Cox’s death.”
The diabetes advisor added, “The likelihood of sudden cardiac death causing Lorraine Cox is extremely small based on the evidence I have reviewed.”
Dr. McNally said, “We know that if a patient passes out from a severe hypoglycemic episode, although they may succumb to a brain injury within an hour or two, it does not mean their heart will stop beating as their heart may metabolize energy another way to keep the heart going. “
The expert informed the jury that a type 1 diabetic had to be “very drunk” in order to impair his ability to tell whether he was hypoglycemic.
The Ministry of the Interior’s pathologist, Dr. Amanda Jeffery told the jury the cause of Miss Cox’s death was unknown.
She said Miss Cox’s death was “uncertain” due to the decomposition of remains when they were recovered by police.
Dr. Jeffery said she couldn’t completely rule out Miss Cox. She suffocated or died as a result of sudden cardiac death or a seizure.
She said two possible causes of death are suffocation and strangulation
The jury heard that Miss Cox had a vest in her mouth when her remains were retrieved.
Dr. Jeffrey said it was “a long way down the throat,” “has the potential to clog the airways,” and “could have caused death.”
Dr. Jeffery told the court, “It appeared to have been pushed into the mouth. A reasonable part was in her throat. It was saturated with body fluids. “
She added, “I just can’t tell if it was pushed in before or after death.”
The jury was told that the autopsy had found no evidence of any mouth or neck injuries to suggest that Miss Cox attempted to take off the garment.
And no injuries were found that indicate she was physically assaulted while she was alive or had a knife on her before she died.
The jury was told how Mangori used two knives to “disarticulate” Miss Cox’s body – mutilation after her death – “neatly and cleanly” cut off her limbs.
Dr. Jeffery said of the system, “It suggests that the person has at least some degree of anatomical knowledge or understanding.”
Forensic toxicologist Alicia Pitcher said tests for amphetamine, ecstasy, cannabis, ketamine, heroin, methadone, diazepam and cocaine found no evidence of drugs in Miss Cox’s system.
She said the decomposition prevented alcohol analysis.
Miss Pitcher told the jury that the toxicology results showed that Miss Cox “did not have ketoacidosis” at the time of her death.
The process continues.
