Rugby woman's killer showered off blood, court told - The Rugby Observer

Rugby woman's killer showered off blood, court told

Rugby Editorial 1st Jul, 2015 Updated: 27th Oct, 2016   0

THE KILLER who attacked Rugby woman Shana Cover in her own home, almost completely severing her neck, showered the blood off himself before leaving, a forensics expert believes.

And from blood found in her home, forensic scientist Christopher Lloyd described how she had been attacked before the fatal blows as she was slumped against the settee.

Mr Lloyd was giving evidence at Warwick Crown Court in the trial of 34-year-old Shana’s estranged husband Owen Williams.

The 50 year-old of Grizedale, Brownsover, Rugby, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her in August last year.




It is believed Shana was killed on August 14, although her body, with her head almost completely severed, was not found at her home in Morton Gardens until a week later.

Mr Lloyd, who attended Shana’s flat with a colleague on August 22, explained what he found in the flat.


“There were a small number of spots of blood on the hallway floor, close to the bedroom and living room doors. They were typical of blood that has dripped from a surface or a wound.”

In the living room he saw Shana’s body, resting on an L-shaped settee wearing a vest and pyjamas. Her head had been almost totally severed and she also had cuts to her hands and chest.

In the bathroom Mr Lloyd found considerable bloodstaining, ‘most of which is diluted with water.’

He added: “It is what I would expect if a bloodstained individual had washed in the bath or the shower, the blood becomes dilute as a result of washing and lands on nearby surfaces.”

DNA samples taken from the bathroom matched the DNA profile of Shana, and there were also traces of someone else’s DNA – but it was too small to carry out any meaningful analysis, and there was no DNA which could be attributed to Williams.

Of the whole scene in the flat, Mr Lloyd told the jury: “There was nothing to indicate the assault had occurred anywhere other than in the living room, and I believe it is likely to have included an initial altercation while she was upright.

“A result of that was that she became injured and started to bleed. Many of the spots of blood on the floor and the walls are likely to have been deposited at that stage, particularly those further away from where she was found.

“Then the coffee table has become damaged after she has started to bleed.

“It is all evidence of a fight having taken place within that room, and at some point she has become incapacitated and fallen on the settee, where I believe the serious injuries were inflicted to her neck, and she has not moved beyond that.

“The spots of blood in the hallway are likely to have originated form the offender himself moving around afterwards or from the weapon.

“The presence of diluted blood in the bathroom is what I would expect if the offender had washed in the shower after the incident.”

Mr Lloyd also examined a card air freshener which had been hanging from the gear stick in Williams’s BMW, and found quite heavy contact bloodstaining which matched Shana’s profile.

A knife with a 25cm blade found in Williams’s garage had visible traces of blood by the hilt and microscopic traces on the blade and handle, and a DNA profile from swabs of the knife matched Shana’s.

“The findings are what I would expect if the knife had been used to cause the injuries and had subsequently been washed and wiped.”

He also tested Williams’ boots, found at the Bell and Barge Harvester in Leicester Road, where he worked as a chef. There was dilute blood on the inside of the tongue and to the welt. DNA tests on the blood matched the profile of Shana.

The trial continues.

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