A six-year-old schoolgirl who was raped and murdered suffered "catastrophic" injuries to her genital area, a jury has been told.
Pathologist John Williams told the Alesha MacPhail murder trial the youngster had suffered more severe injuries to that part of her body than he had ever seen before.
The High Court in Glasgow was shown graphic injuries of the injuries, which judge Lord Matthews warned were "distressing".
A 16-year old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies abducting the schoolgirl from the home her grandparents shared with her dad on the Isle of Bute, raping and murdering her and attempting to hide evidence.
Her body was found in a wooded area on the island on July 2 last year.
Dr Williams said the girl had been smothered to death.
He told how he carried out a post-mortem examination of her body and the cause of death was "pressure to the neck and face".
He said the injuries to her neck and face were consistent with being gripped, and those to her nose and mouth were consistent with "smothering".
He added it was also possible her was windpipe pushed shut.
The 16-year-old accused has lodged a special defence blaming Toni McLachlan - the girlfriend of Alesha's father Robert MacPhail - for the killing.
During her evidence to the court on Wednesday she insisted she had had nothing to do with the girl's death, telling jurors: "I loved her to pieces."
The accused also denies attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of clothing and a knife.
The trial continues.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article