APPORTIONING blame over what caused a man’s death between a head injury and drug intoxication could not be done “with any precision”, a murder trial was told.

Experienced pathologist Basil Purdue told the jury in the trial of Alex Banda that both factors had a “more than minimal” impact on Daniel Upson.

Banda, 27, is accused of murdering 47-year-old Mr Upson at Chapman’s Hotel in Frances Road, Bournemouth in December last year.

He is also alleged to have assaulted another hostel resident – Timothy Wilson – by beating him.

Giving evidence at the start of the second week of the Winchester Crown Court trial on Monday, May 22, Dr Purdue said he initially gave a preliminary cause of death as undetermined pending further laboratory investigations in relation to neuropathology and toxicology.

The court heard this was after he carried out an autopsy on Mr Upson’s body on Sunday, December 18, 2022.

Prosecutors allege that Banda carried out an “extremely violent” attack on the complainant shortly before midnight on Friday, December 16, after he believed Mr Upson had stolen drugs from him.

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Dr Purdue told the court following the subsequent investigations he provided a cause of death as the combined effects of head injury and drug intoxication, with the specific drugs involved being heroin, methadone and cocaine.

"It is not possible to apportion blame between those two factors with any precision but neither can be ignored,” Dr Purdue said.

The pathologist said the level of heroin in Mr Upson’s system was in a range associated with death or significant intoxication depending on the tolerance of the individual taking it.

He added that the level of this drug alongside the methadone meant there was an increased risk of sedation or respiratory depression, which can impact the "basic housekeeping part of the brain".

It was difficult to assess how the heroin, methadone and cocaine would interact with each other, Dr Purdue confirmed.

In relation to physical injuries, Dr Purdue said Mr Upson sustained a fracture to the lower part of his right jaw, which would have come from “severe” force.

"It is not something that happens from a trivial impact," he told the court.

There was also bruising and grazing to other parts of the face.

Referencing a neuropathology report, Dr Purdue said there was a moderate head injury, with “mild traumatic injuries” to the brain.

The drug intoxication was described as moderate to severe, the jury heard.

The pathologist was asked if the drug intoxication alone could have been a cause of death if there was not a head injury.

Dr Purdue said he would have found it "unusual" for this to be the case with someone who was a regular drug user like Mr Upson.

Banda, of Frobisher Avenue, Poole, denies murder and assault by beating.

The trial continues.