'Shock' at child's emaciated body

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A pathologist was "shocked" by the emaciated body of a seven-year-old child who died after being starved, a court has heard.

Roger Malcolmson told Birmingham Crown Court Khyra Ishaq had suffered the greatest loss of fat he had ever seen.

Dr Malcolmson said Khyra died from an infection but that the "ultimate cause" of her death had been starvation.

Khyra's mother Angela Gordon, 34, and her partner Junaid Abuhamza, 30, both of Handsworth, Birmingham, deny murder.

Dr Malcolmson described a photograph taken of Khyra at a post-mortem examination to the court.

'Severely malnourished'

He told jurors it showed her sunken face and he could see "almost the outline of the skull".

He added: "The jawbone is also very, very prominent in that particular image.

"There is very little skin fat or subcutaneous fat."

He told the jury: "Taking everything into consideration, she was severely malnourished.

"I have never seen a similar case before.

"I believe in this case that the infection that caused Khyra's death was inevitably caused by her malnutrition."

'Miss out'

Earlier, the jury was shown a recording of a police interview with a 10-year-old boy conducted last June.

The boy, who was in the defendants' care at their home in Leyton Road, but cannot be named for legal reasons, told police he, Khyra and other children were made to eat with their hands out of a single bowl.

He said children would "miss out" on meals if they were naughty.

Mr Abuhamza has admitted cruelty charges relating to five children, while Ms Gordon denies the charges of child cruelty, which are alleged to have been committed between December 2007 and 17 May 2008.

The case was adjourned until Tuesday.