Noye 'stabbed Cameron with considerable force'

Kenneth Noye stabbed Stephen Cameron through his heart and liver "with considerable force ... and up to the hilt", a pathologist told the Old Bailey yesterday.

Dr Michael Heath told the jury that there was evidence that Mr Cameron had been "relatively static" when he was knifed and there was no marks to indicate that he had tried to defend himself. He also discounted the possibility that Mr Cameron had run on to the knife. The pathologist further stated there were no bruises to Mr Cameron's knuckles which would have indicated that his fists had come into contact with a hard surface, such as someone's skull, during a fight.

Mr Noye, 52, of Sevenoaks, Kent, admits killing Mr Cameron during a violent "road rage" altercation on an M25 slip road in Kent in May 1996, but claims he did so in self-defence.

Using a blue plastic ruler and a court usher, Dr Heath demonstrated the blows delivered on Mr Cameron, 21, who was unarmed. Dr Heath said: "At the time of the stabbing, the fist or hilt came into forceful contact with the skin surface. The force behind each stab wound was considerable. The finding of bruising indicated there had been forceful impact to the skin." He added that the internal wounds caused were "essentially undistorted - they are straight in and out. This indicated the knife had entered and exited the body very quickly. It was done at some speed."

The prosecution alleges Mr Cameron was stabbed by Mr Noye in a fight which started after a traffic incident involving Mr Noye's Land Rover Discovery and a van driven by Mr Cameron's fiancée, Danielle Cable. Mr Noye allegedly stabbed Mr Cameron out of "anger and maybe pride" because the younger man was getting the upper hand in the fight. Mr Cameron's relatives - who had sat in court throughout the trial - were not present when the pathologist gave his evidence yesterday.

Dr Heath said Mr Cameron was stabbed twice with a knife with a 1.5cm wide blade. One of the wounds penetrated his heart. Dr Heath said: "It sliced the back of the wall of the heart, entering one of the chambers and out again, producing a V-shaped wound. It produced a six-and-a-quarter inch wound." The second stab went up into the chest cavity and sliced the right lobe of the liver, said Dr Heath. It was just over seven inches deep.

A second pathologist told the court he had not seen any evidence that the knife had gone up to the hilt. Dr Peter Jerreat said in his opinion, mild to moderate force had been used.

By "moderate", he meant similar to the force of a punch.

The trial continues.