Former prosecution case worker stamped Hornchurch pensioner Rosemary Shearman to death, court hears
Rosemary Shearman - Credit: Archant
A former prosecution case worker stamped a pensioner to death after meeting her at his mother’s bridge club, a court heard.
Thomas Blazquez, 51, allegedly attacked 77-year-old Rosemary Shearman on the day she was due to head off on a luxury cruise.
Pathologist Dr Benjamin Swift told jurors at Southwark Crown Court yesterday that the Hornchurch woman’s injuries were consistent with her being repeatedly stamped on.
The court also heard that Blazquez, of Onslow Gardens, South Woodford, bound and gagged Mrs Shearman with duct tape and nylon rope.
Dr Swift said: “In my experience, from the large number of fractures to the ribs on both sides, it is in keeping with a stamping type assault.
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“With all of these injuries, where there is injury associated with the bindings, it seems she was alive when the bindings were put on her.”
The pathologist said Mrs Shearman’s hands were bound by rope and duct tape and that further tape was around her head and upper neck.
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He also said a fabric tie was around her face and a handkerchief was “pushed right to the back of her throat,” blocking the “back of the mouth as well as the nose”.
A post-mortem found Mrs Shearman died from multiple chest wall fractures and mechanical obstruction of the upper airways.
Dr Swift said her rib injuries would have “compromised normal breathing and contributed to her death” and that asphyxiation had been caused by the handkerchief.
Mrs Shearman’s body was found by neighbours in her Platford Green home in September last year.
The court heard she had received heavy blows to her head and face, causing a broken nose and cuts to her scalp.
Blazquez, who allegedly attempted to take his own life, admits manslaughter but denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Read more:
CPS clerk beat Hornchurch’s Rosemary Shearman to death before attempting suicide, a court heard
Trial of man accused of murdering Hornchurch pensioner Rosemary Shearman set to begin
