University graduate, 23, 'killed by her Polish boyfriend was already dead when her car was set alight with her body inside'

Victim: Catherine Wells-Burr, pictured, was 'almost certainly' dead when her Ford Focus was set on fire at a Somerset beauty spot

A graduate who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, his jealous former partner and her uncle was already dead when her car was set alight, a court heard today.
Catherine Wells-Burr's body was found in her burnt out Ford Focus by firefighters at a Somerset beauty spot.
But pathology tests carried out on the 23-year-old, who was so badly burned that she had to be identified using dental records, determined that she was 'almost certainly' dead before the fire.
Prosecutors allege that her boyfriend Rafal Nowak, 31, hatched a plot with his jealous former partner Anna Lagwinowicz, 32, and her uncle Tadevsz Dmytryszyn, 38, to kill her for her six figure life insurance policy.
Nowak, a factory worker, is accused of smothering the business analyst as she slept at the couple's new home in Chard, Somerset, on September 12 last year - leaving him able to access a six figure life insurance payout and the property.
His former partner, Lagwinowicz - with whom Nowak is said to have rekindled a romance - allegedly joined her uncle in dumping Miss Wells-Burr's body in her car at a nearby roadside and setting fire to it.
Home Office pathologist Dr Hugh White told the jury at Bristol Crown Court that he carried out several different tests on Miss Wells-Burr's body, including examining the airway and taking blood samples, and concluded she was dead when the fire was started.
He said: 'Putting all these factors together, it is my opinion that she was almost certainly dead when the fire started.'

He told the jury that Miss Wells-Burr had sustained a fracture to the back of her head, close to her right ear.'
There had been some sort of blunt force trauma to the back of the head but I cannot be more specific than that,' he said.
'This particular fracture had been exposed to the heat suggesting it had occurred before the fire started.'

Case: Rafal Nowak is accused of murdering 23-year-old business analyst Catherine Wells-Burr for her six-figure life insurance policy

Dr White said he was not able to say whether the head injury had been inflicted on Miss Wells-Burr before or after she died.
The pathologist said that because of the blaze it was not possible to give a precise cause of the Bath Spa University graduate's death.
Prosecutor Richard Smith QC asked Dr White whether it was possible that Miss Wells-Burr had died as a result of asphyxiation or strangulation.
'There is nothing to indicate that this could not have occurred,' he replied.
Forensic anthropologist Dr Nicholas Marquez-Grant told the court he had been asked to examine Miss Wells-Burr's skull and said that he agreed with Dr  that it was impossible to tell whether the head injury had been sustained before or after death.
But he added: 'I am confident that the injury or damage to the back of the skull was caused prior to the fire.'
Dr Marquez-Grant said that he was unable to say what had caused the head injury or the force used to inflict it.
The court also heard details of written evidence from forensic scientist Melanie Banks, who examined fragments of clothing found upon Miss Wells-Burr's body.
Miss Banks concluded that Miss Wells-Burr might have been wearing a pair of fabric shorts when her car was set alight.
She added that due to the extent of the fire she was unable to say what other clothes Miss Wells-Burr could have had on.
Polish nationals Nowak, Lagwinowicz, and Dmytryszyn all deny murder.
Lagwinowicz was not present in court today having been excused attendance by trial judge Mrs Justice Sharp.
The trial continues.

Prosecutors allege Nowak smothered Miss Wells-Burr with a pillow as she lay sleeping in their new home in Chard, Somerset in September last year, Bristol Crown Court (pictured) has heard

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