A Home Office pathologist has told a murder trial that it was "inconceivable" that an elderly man could have accidentally stabbed himself to death. David Berman, 84, lost his life after sustaining a deep stab wound to the chest that a forensic specialist described as having been delivered with "severe force". His wife, Daryl Berman, 71, stands accused of his murder, a charge she firmly denies.
Dr Phillip Lumb stated he had never come across a fatal accidental stabbing throughout his entire career, and informed jurors that the injuries sustained by Mr Berman were "very unlikely to be an accident". The forensic expert was delivering evidence at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester during the trial of Berman, of Butterstile Lane, Prestwich, Greater Manchester.
Prosecutors contend that she stabbed her husband with a paring knife at their home on 13 March last year, while the defence maintains that Mr Berman was carrying the knife on a tray into the kitchen when he fell. Jurors were told that Dr Lumb, a Home Office-registered forensic pathologist, conducted a post-mortem examination on 18 March 2025, following concerns raised by another pathologist.
The court heard he was amongst three pathologists who examined Mr Berman's body, all of whom concurred that suicide could be eliminated as a possibility. Dr Lumb informed jurors that the fatal wound was a 2.5cm stab wound to the right side of Mr Berman's chest, penetrating 12cm into his body. The injury passed between his ribs, through his right lung and into the sac surrounding his heart. The pathologist stated that the wound appeared to have been inflicted by a single-edged blade, with little indication of movement after the knife had penetrated the body.
Dr Lumb informed the court that the injury resulted in a "catastrophic haemorrhage", was delivered with "severe force", and was "very unlikely to be an accident". He said: "In my experience, fatal accidental stab wounds are extraordinarily rare. I have personally never encountered one." The pathologist also drew attention to a separate wound on Mr Berman's right middle finger. Jurors were told the injury measured 0.7cm deep with a track length of 1.6cm. Dr Lumb stated it was consistent with a defensive injury.
He informed the court that he had taken into account evidence of a broken plate found at the scene, however "there were no residual fragments of porcelain left within that injury". Summarising his conclusions, Dr Lumb told the court: "Putting the two [injuries] together, I thought it was inconceivable that this was anything else other than homicide."
When questioned by Michael Hayton KC as to whether David Berman could have fallen onto the knife as an 84 year old man, Dr Lumb responded: "The position I would take would be that this is very unlikely, not impossible." The trial continues.
