Throttled woman 'fought for life'

Catherine Marlow had gone into work to catch up after a holiday

A finance manager fought against her killer as she was strangled with her own scarf, the Old Bailey has heard.

Cathy Marlow had fingermarks around her neck suggesting she tried to remove the scarf as her killer tightened it, said pathologist Professor Peter Jereat.

Miss Marlow, 28, was attacked when she went into the offices of Research Now in Kennington, south London, to catch up over the weekend in January 2007.

Matthew Fagan, 32, from Elephant and Castle, south-east London, denies murder.

Professor Jereat told the court that Miss Marlow, from New Zealand, had been hit on the head with a light hammer before being throttled.

Face covered

The professor said he had given the cause of death as asphyxia due to a ligature compression to the neck.

The prosecution alleged Miss Marlow was attacked by Mr Fagan when she went into the office to catch up on work after a holiday in Egypt.

Mr Fagan, who was sacked from the company nine months earlier, has admitted stealing six laptop computers from the office on the day of the killing, but denies murder.

Her body was found dumped in a shower cubicle at the office by former colleague Simon Edwards who, with other friends of Miss Marlow, had been searching for her.

Mr Edwards told the court the shower was on and her face was covered when he made the discovery.

"I moved the cloths or rags from the facial area to the side, to see whether anything could be done, to see whether the person was alive," he said.

The trial was adjourned until Thursday.