Chesterfield soldier and Sheffield United fan died as a direct result of cracking his head on the floor, court is told

Joseph Robotham died in February after he was struck in the face by a bottle outside Vibe Bar, in Holywell Street, after a fight broke out inside, Derby Crown Court heard on Monday, January 25.

The 23-year-old, of Sheffield Road, Old Whittington, was rushed to hospital but died the following evening.

Connor Rose, of no fixed address, has admitted Mr Robotham’s manslaughter but denies murder.

Giving evidence today, Home Office pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton said that Mr Robotham had suffered a fractured skull, and would not have died from the single blow he received outside the venue.

Dr Hamilton, who carried out a post-mortem examination on Mr Robotham at Leicester Royal Infirmary, said the fall had caused bleeding and swelling to the brain, which would have led to the organ being starved of oxygen, despite doctors’ best efforts to save his life.

He told the court that his brain also had a number of tares in the tissue, and that it had “bulged and flattened” through a hole but into Mr Robotham’s skull by doctors to try and reduce pressure. after it was sent to specialists at King’s College, London, for expert examination.

When Mr Robotham’s brain was weighted as part of the post-mortem, it weighed 1,895g when the average male human brain weighed around 1,500g, and that was as a direct result of the swelling, he said.

He told the court: “I have attributed the medical cause of death to the head injury. I am of the opinion that the injuries present are in-keeping with a blow to the right side of Mr Robotham’s face, which has caused him to fall backwards and strike his head on the ground.”

Responding to cross-examination from the defence, Dr Hamilton said that no glass fragments were found in Mr Robotham’s brain, and that he would not have died from the blow to the face on its own.

Earlier in proceedings, the court had heard that Mr Robotham was struck by Rose after he got into an altercation with another man inside the club and they were both ejected.

The trial continues.

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