Paulina Dembska was 'fully conscious' while being attacked: court expert

Paulina Dembska was fully conscious as she was being tortured, raped and beaten, knowing that she was going to die, a forensic doctor told a court in shocking testimony on Friday. 

Mario Scerri testified that Dembska was a strong woman who put up a fight as her aggressor grabbed her by the hair, beat her and pressed hard on her neck. 

Despite the violent assault, she managed to inflict injuries on her aggressor, causing lesions compatible with the struggle, Scerri said. 

The forensic medical expert was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Abner Aquilina, who stands accused of the January 2022 murder on the Sliema promenade. 

Photos of the victim seen by parte civile lawyer Stefano Filletti while cross-examining the expert showed that Paulina had multiple bruises on the face, breasts, thighs when he examined her as she lay next to a ramp, naked from the waist down and legs apart. 

Paulina Dembska, the 29-year-old murder victim.

There were fractures in the neck bones, a rare occurrence indicating that “severe, powerful lateral manual pressure” had been applied, causing the lips to split as the aggressor pushed down on her mouth. 

The evidence showed that there was a...