THE MURDER trial into the death of a woman who died following a “sadistic and brutal act” which left a shampoo bottle inside of her was brought to a dramatic halt as the “distressing” details were told to the court.

Prosecutor William Mousley QC was just ten minutes into the opening of the case against Daniel McBride, who is charged with murdering Majella Lynch, when a spare juror collapsed.

A male juror sat next to her called out for assistance as she had her head in her hands but as she was led away she fainted and Mr Justice Akenhead was forced to clear the court.

She was later dismissed from the jury and sent home.

As Mr Mousley opened the trial at Winchester Crown Court he told the jury it was the prosecution’s case that it was 43-year-old McBride who had inserted the bottle without Ms Lynch’s consent and is therefore responsible for her murder. He denies the charge.

He said the “excruciating pain” caused by such a “perverted sexual assault” could not have been consented or “self-inflicted”.

The hearing heard Ms Lynch, known as Maj to her friends, underwent emergency surgery to remove a full 400ml bottle of shampoo from her abdomen area once it had been discovered by a scan.

Mr Mousley said: “Such a sadistic and brutal act on a vulnerable victim clearly demonstrates, the prosecution say, an intention to cause serious injury and even in the highly unlikely event that she had agreed to, or gone along with what he did, the prosecution say this is a case of murder.”

The jury heard how Ms Lynch was found at her home in St Mary's Road on April 18 last year in agonising pain by her regular support workers.

Mr Mousley said she was extremely reluctant to say what had happened and initially refused to answer questions but told the first nurse she saw at Southampton General Hospital that she had been assaulted.

Mr Mousley added: “She was quite obviously very scared.”

She underwent emergency surgery to have the bottle removed but she died of “massive infection” due to the damage already caused by the bottle.

The court was told McBride, of St Deny’s Road, Southampton, visited Ms Lynch’s basement flat between 3.40am and 6.15am on April 18 and although he initially denied this when arrested, he later admitted he had been there.

Mr Mousley said he was in the “mood for sexual interaction” having had an argument with his girlfriend the previous night and had been rejected by a woman he met while out in Southampton drinking and taking drugs earlier that night.

CCTV footage from outside Ms Lynch’s home shows him going into her basement flat and then leaving more than three hours later.

He claims he walked past her home and heard her call out for help and offered to call an ambulance but the prosecution say he has “invented” this version of events to try and fit the evidence, including his own DNA being in the flat.

The court heard how after the attack he went to a friends house and when he couldn’t get in, he went to a shop and went home “without a thought for Majella’s suffering, indifferent to whether she would live or die”.

Mr Mousley said an expert concluded that the severe pain caused by such an act “could not have been expected to be tolerated by anyone” and that the damage caused would have been “traumatic”.

The jury was told how Ms Lynch, who had a son who was adopted, was a chronic drinker who had a “chaotic lifestyle” and was “vulnerable to exploitation whether physical, sexual or financial”.

Mr Mousley explained that the bottle found inside Ms Lynch had been bought by one of her carers along with conditioner, in a bid to encourage her to wash.

The jury also heard about McBride’s background and how a previous girlfriend found him too “forceful” and described him as having a “split personality”.

The prosecution say websites visited on his mobile phone show he has an interest in violent sexual activities.

Proceeding.