A MURDER victim found dead in her flat, which looked like 'a bomb had hit it', had had her throat slashed, a court heard.

Julie Davison was discovered on the floor of her ransacked flat surrounded in blood by her sister and brother-in-law, Dawn and William Kibble.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Ms Davison had suffered severe neck injuries during the attack in her Whitby home in April last year.

The couple went to the flat after they became concerned about the 50-year-old's welfare as she suffered from epilepsy and other medical conditions.

Mr Kibble told jurors how they let themselves into her flat with a spare key.

He said: “I walked straight in, the wife screamed and immediately left, I saw Julie laid on the floor. I saw blood and could see Julie wasn't breathing.

“The flat looked as if a bomb had hit it - it had obviously been ransacked.”

He added: “I felt her pulse, that was the first thing that I did, then I realised straight away that she was dead.”

The evidence of paramedic David Ward, which was read out to the jury, said: “I could see the female was covered in blood and had suffered a large open neck wound. I could see her muscle and arteries were exposed, there was a cut across the windpipe area.”

James Allen denies two charges of murder. It is alleged he killed 81-year-old Colin Dunford in his Middlesbrough home in April last year before killing Ms Davison three days later.

The trial continues.