SNELSON TRIAL: Cusworth was beaten to death: Pathologist
GRAPHIC CONTENT ADVISORY
KAMLOOPS – Around seven or eight blows to the head caused the death of a 19-year-old girl who was found beaten, bruised and strangled in a watery ditch at the side of a pumpkin farmer’s property in Kelowna in 1993.
In Kamloops Supreme Court today, June 4, Dr. Ronald Roy, a forensic pathologist, walked a jury through his autopsy exam of Jennifer Cusworth who died after leaving a Richter Street party on October 16, 1993.
Neil George Snelson, 48, is charged with one count of manslaughter. This is his second trial.
"Between midline of (her) neck and left ear had many lacerations of the scalp,” Roy said of Cusworth’s head. He noted a total of seven to eight blows, but said it was difficult to count them individually as some overlapped “probably in rapid succession."
Roy said there was a substantial amount of blood found under the scalp which indicated Cusworth’s assailant used a great deal of force in the attack.
“The scalp doesn’t split that easily,” he said, adding he thought a tire iron may have been the weapon used to inflict the injuries.
Crown prosecutor Iain Currie asked Roy to explain the bruised marks found on her neck.
Roy pointed to hemorrhaged blood vessels around the body’s voice box and neck muscles along with imprints on the skin.
“All of those injuries are very consistent with an attempt at strangulation,” he said.
Roy said there was no damage to her vagina. Crown alleges semen collected from the body matched the accused.
When asked about Cusworth’s condition at the time of her death, Roy said her blood alcohol level was high.
“(She was) quite intoxicated,” he said.
In the trial’s first day, Cusworth’s friends said they saw her at a house party and made plans to get her home safely after realizing her drunken state. Faith Klinksiek said after telling Cusworth to wait ten minutes before heading to her house, she disappeared from the party.
The trial is expected to last between three to four weeks.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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5 responses
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this must be extremely painful for the friends and family of Jennifer: my condolences for your loss and I send prayer and positive thoughts for strength at this time. It seems so unfair that he gets to have a second chance when already found guilty at the previous trial. Stick together and stay strong
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He won a 2nd trial because the supreme court found the judge in the first trial made a mistake.In the first trial the jury found him guilty of manslaughter (which IMO was a very poor decision on the jury’s part.Even the judge thought so).According to Canadian law because he was found guilty of manslaughter in the first trial he can only be found guilty of the same charge in the second trial.Which seems so wrong.It’s obvious he killed Jennifer.If he had one shred of decency he would have plead guilty instead of putting Jennifer’s family though a 2nd trial.I guess you can’t expect anything else who would brutally kill another person.His life is ruined (not that I care) he’s lost all his friends and his wife left him and took the kids.
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I am surprised it was Manslaughter…when he clearly murdered her. This is just another case of criminals getting away with murder….and the victim, and victim’s families receiving little, if any, justice. Justice? What I have seen does not resemble Justice…Where is John Wayne when you need him?
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