Sinead Wooding death: Victim 'struck while kneeling'

The body of Sinead Wooding was discovered by joggers on 14 May

A young mother allegedly beaten and stabbed to death was "struck while kneeling", a court heard.

Blood spots on a cellar wall indicated that Sinead Wooding had been struck while she was "slightly upright".

Senior forensic scientist Michelle Walton told Leeds Crown Court: "The blood in that area was typical of impact spatter: blood that is generated by or as a result of a blow."

Ms Wooding's husband Akshar Ali and Yasmin Ahmed, both 27, deny her murder.

Mr Ali, of Scott Hall Road, Leeds, and Ms Ahmed, of Reginald Mount, Potternewton, are accused of killing the 26-year-old, who was allegedly beaten with a claw hammer and stabbed six times at Ms Ahmed's home in May.

Her body was later wrapped in a duvet and a bin liner before being dumped in woodland at Stairfoot Lane, Leeds, and set on fire.

Her remains were discovered by a group of joggers on the morning of 14 May.

Walls wiped down

A jury heard that the cellar of the house had been swept and the walls wiped down.

There had also been an attempt to clean up a large bloodstain in the centre of the cellar floor.

Blood traces were also found on a mop head, a brush and other debris inside a wheelie bin. Ms Walton was able to link it to Ms Wooding via DNA profiling.

Mr Ali's mother Aktahr Bi, 45, denies assisting an offender by procuring a vehicle and assisting in the disposal of Ms Wooding's corpse.

His brother Asim Ali, 21, also denies assisting an offender by procuring a vehicle and assisting in the disposal and burning of her body.

A fifth defendant, Vicky Briggs, 25, denies assisting an offender by helping clean up and burn material after the murder.

The trial continues.