A seven-year-old who was murdered in 1992 was ‘dragged’ by her feet to the basement of a derelict building in Sunderland, before her skull was shattered with a brick, a court has heard.
David Boyd, who was 25 and a neighbour at the time of Nikki Allan’s death, is accused of taking the schoolgirl to a derelict building where he beat her with a brick and stabbed her 37 times times, jurors heard.
Prosecutors said she ‘skipped to her death,’ as she was lured away from the block of flats where she lived, close to the River Wear, late in the evening on October 7, 1992.
Little Nikki was found dead the following morning inside the Old Exchange Building, in the Docklands area of Sunderland.
Boyd, 55, of Chesterton Court, Teesside, denies murder and is being tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.
Nikki Allan (pictured) was lured to her death by neighbour David Boyd, a court heard
David Boyd, who 25 at the time, is accused of murdering the seven-year-old school girl in 1992
Giving evidence, forensic expert Hilary Parkinson told jurors she discovered a blood-stained brick at the murder scene during her investigation.
During proceedings, the brick was passed around to jurors – while wrapped for its own protection – in order to demonstrate the object’s more than five pound weight.
On being asked by prosecutor Richard Wright KC to describe the scene she saw, forensics expert Ms Parkinson said: ‘The body was lying on its left side on the back against the north wall of the room.
‘The arms were outstretched, with the hands being above her head. She was clothed in a pair of black shorts, a green T-shirt and a pair of white socks.’
Ms Parkinson then used a mannequin to show Nikki’s shirt, which had been ‘rucked up’ towards her shoulders, leaving her chest and stomach exposed.
‘There were blood stains visible on her right wrist and drops of blood could be seen on the left wrist and on the body,’ she added.
‘There appeared to be a wound to her body to the left chest region. There was some blood visible on both legs below the knees.’
Nikki Allan (pictured) was murdered after going missing from her grandparents flat
Nikki Allan’s body was found in the basement of Sunderland’s Old Exchange Building in 1992
Mr Wright KC then asked: ‘Did you form the opinion as to how she had come to be in that position?’
Ms Parkinson replied: ‘I formed the opinion the body had been dragged at least for some distance by pulling the legs or ankles.
‘By pulling the body by the feet, the upper clothing will ruck up. If you had have pulled the body by the arms, the trousers would have come down.
‘When I came to examine the shirt later, there was a series of creases formed during the rucking up process which were heavily stained with dust and dirt and debris.’
The court heard Nikki was dragged down the stairs and into the basement – with each step found with smears of blood.
Jurors were also shown grim photographs of the scene which revealed blood on the floor, the walls, and on a plank of wood.
Ms Parkinson added: ‘She’s been struck at least once on the floor. For blood to be projected there must be a source of blood so once someone has received an injury where there is blood, and something impacts on that injury, blood will be projected out.
‘I can’t say if she was hit once or more than once. It appears when she’s been hit and injured she’s been dragged by a distance of two feet or more across the floor.’
Nikki Allan’s body was found in the Old Exchange Building with 37 stab wounds
Parents Sharon Henderson and David Allan pictured at their seven year old daughter’s funeral
Neighbour David Boyd, 55, (pictured) is accused of murdering the seven year old girl
The court also heard evidence from police constable Nigel Beattie who was first on the scene after Nikki’s body was discovered.
Jurors heard he was assisted by two other officers after they came across a distressed woman in the street who told them: ‘Oh God, it’s the bairn’.
Mr Beattie said he noticed drag marks which appeared to be stained with blood as he approached the stairs leading to the basement.
‘At the bottom of the stairs I saw the drag marks lead left to a dark room. At the end of the room was a doorway leading to a further room,’ he said.
The drag marks continued up and into this room. On entry to this room, I saw the body of a child in the right-hand corner of this room.
‘I saw the drag marks lead to this position on which the child was located. The head and face of the child was covered in blood and I could see on the chest of the child what appeared to be a hole with blood around it.
‘I then remained in the room with the child until the arrival of forensic officers.’
During the evidence, one member in the public gallery became distressed and proceedings were paused while they left the room.
The trial continues.
