A gruesome slideshow depicting multiple injuries suffered by murder victim Matthew Clarke was shown to the jury hearing the trial of three men accused of the killing.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Pollanen used the pictures to talk the nine women and three men through his findings.

Mr. Clarke, 31, was found dead in bed at his home in North Shore Road, Pembroke, on the afternoon of Wednesday April 9, 2008.

Dr. Pollanen, who is the chief forensic pathologist for the province of Ontario, conducted the autopsy three days later at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

He told the Supreme Court jury Mr. Clarke had suffered 26 stab wounds five to his right chest, six to his left chest, 14 to his neck, and one to his back. Some of these wounds damaged his internal organs including a lung which collapsed, his heart, and his right kidney.

In addition, the victim had suffered injuries to his head, skull and brain. The doctor said these were caused by at least nine blunt impacts to the head. He said the resulting splits in Mr. Clarke's skull were "quite characteristic of being struck by an elongated or tubular instrument".

He said the major 20cm injury to the head, which caused brain damage, appeared to have been inflicted after the other wounds and would have led to unconsciousness.

In addition, Mr. Clarke had injuries to his fingers on his right hand. Dr. Pollanen said these were evidence of a defensive posture being taken by Mr. Clarke, such as putting his hand between his body and a sharp instrument.

The victim's left index finger was also crushed, with Dr. Pollanen saying this likely happened when the hand was hit while resting on a surface perhaps while his finger was against his skull.

The doctor said none of the injuries appeared to be inflicted after death, and there was no evidence such as handcuff marks or bruising to suggest Mr. Clarke had been restrained.

Dr. Pollanen said the stab wounds and head injuries resulted in internal bleeding, inhalation of blood and brain damage and would have led to a "fairly rapid" death.

Vernon Simons, 24, from Pembroke, Kyle Sousa, 18, from Warwick and Shannon Tucker, 32, from Southampton are accused of killing Mr. Clarke sometime between 2.30 p.m and 3 p.m.

The three men are alleged to have travelled to the scene together in Tucker's blue work truck. According to prosecutors, at least two of the accused inflicted the fatal injuries and after the killing, Simons and Sousa dropped a bag with a metal bar used in the killing into a pond, showered and disposed of their clothes.

Mr. Clarke's body was found by his girlfriend and the mother of his two children, Charlitta Spencer, shortly after 3 p.m.

The three defendants who knew each other prior to the incident deny murder. In taped Police interviews conducted with Simons and Tucker, which have previously been played to the jury, Tucker suggested that Simons and Sousa may have committed the crime. Meanwhile, Simons, who worked for Tucker's construction firm, claimed he saw Sousa attack Mr. Clarke. He suggested this was at Tucker's behest.

Both speculated that the death was somehow linked to a drug shipment into Bermuda earlier that year that they alleged Mr. Clarke was responsible for. Tucker and Simons had been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to import that shipment after it was found by Police, and were on bail over the matter at the time Mr. Clarke was killed.

In addition to hearing from Dr. Pollanen yesterday, the jury also heard a taped interview conducted with Simons on April 12, 2008 after he'd been arrested the previous day on suspicion of murder.

During the interview, detectives Don DeSilva and Trent Lightbourne invited Sousa to tell them what his movements were on the day of the murder. Sousa said he got up around 8.30 a.m., caught the bus to his job as a houseman at the Hamilton Princess hotel, and called Vernon Simons from work around 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. to ask him what he was doing that day. He said Simons replied that he was "handling some business".

Sousa said he knocked off work around 2.45 p.m and called his uncle Ronald Smith who lived along with Simons in North Street, Pembroke. He said he walked to his uncle's house and found Simons home along with his uncle and his godfather named Matthew.

Sousa said both he and Simons showered at the house. Then, he said, he left the house with Simons and they walked down the hill together. Sousa described Simons as holding a black trash bag with a black-handled metal pole sticking out of the top. Simons headed towards Dellwood school while Simons headed off in a different direction to catch a bus home to Warwick.

Police divers later recovered a metal pole, alleged to have been used in the murder, from a pond near the school.

The case continues.