A neck wound suffered by a man allegedly stabbed to death by his girlfriend would have killed within minutes, a jury heard yesterday.

According to forensic pathologist Michael Pollanen, Edward Allan (Sleepy) Dill sustained a severed carotid artery from a wound below his left ear that went to the back of his throat.

The artery, said the expert, is one of four major ones that supply blood to the head and brain. Its rupture would result in major and rapid blood loss.

"Once this injury occurs, this man is in the process of dying," he explained.

Dr. Pollanen, Chief Forensic Pathologist for Ontario, Canada, also told the jury the 2.5 centimetre long wound was created by a sharp pointed instrument such as a knife.

Andrina Tamara Smith, 26, the mother of Mr. Dill's baby daughter, stands accused of his murder.

Opening the case last week, Senior Crown Counsel Carrington Mahoney told the jury that Smith and Mr. Dill, 35, argued at her home in Cedar Park, Devonshire, after she returned from a night out with girlfriends.

He claimed after Mr. Dill slapped her, Smith armed herself with a knife from the kitchen.

While Mr. Dill was behind a door trying to block her from a room she allegedly plunged it through the door and into his neck.

According to evidence from a Police officer who arrested Smith after the incident in the early hours on Monday October 16 2006, she admitted to the stabbing and said: "He beat me, he beat me. I just couldn't take it anymore".

Mr. Mahoney yesterday showed Dr. Pollanen the black-handled knife she allegedly used to commit the crime. The doctor agreed it could have caused the wound.

One of Smith's neighbours spoke last week of how she tried to help Mr. Dill as he lay bleeding by holding towels to the wound, but was unable to stem the flow of blood. At this point, she claimed, Smith tried to attack Mr. Dill by beating his chest.

According to Dr. Pollanen, efforts to save the victim would have been ineffective due to the severed artery being such a large one.

He described the victim as 5ft 8.5 ins tall, and around 240lbs.

In addition to the neck wound, the forensic pathologist also found a half-centimetre scrape near his right shoulder where the skin had been scraped with a sharp pointed instrument.

There was a similar, smaller, injury on the right side of his belly.

In answer to questions from Mr. Mahoney, he said there was no evidence of defence wounds usually present on the hands and forearms of someone attempting to fight off an attack.

Asked if the injury could be consistent with an assailant attacking the victim from behind, he agreed this was possible.

Quizzed by defence lawyer Charles Richardson on whether the wound could have been inflicted by an assailant facing the victim and swinging a knife with their right hand to connect with the upper neck, he said this was possible too.

He refuted Mr. Richardson's suggestion that the smaller wounds could have been sustained by walking into something, saying they were caused by Mr. Dill's body coming into contact with a sharp object.

Dr. Pollanen told the court that during a visit to the scene of the incident, he noted there was extensive blood staining. He recommended that a "blood spatter expert" be called to give evidence in the case.

Smith, who is on bail, denies murder. The case continues.