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IRISH CENTRAL
Natasha McShane
# brutal attack
Medical team pulled a stone from the back of Natasha McShane's throat
The trauma surgeon who treated Natasha said there three separate lacerations were discovered and there was a lot of blood.
TRAUMA SURGEON DR Marius Katilius has told the Cook County Criminal Court in Chicago that the medical team treating Natasha McShane “pulled out a stone from the back of the throat”.
Natasha McShane, from Silverbridge, has been left with extensive brain injures and speech problems as a result of the 2010 attack.
Attacker
Heriberto Viramontes, 34, is charged with two counts of attempted murder and 23 other charges linked to his alleged involvement in the attack on 23 April 2010.
The BBC reports that yesterday the court heard evidence from the trauma surgeon on duty in the emergency room of Illinois Masonic Hospital when McShane and her friend Stacey Jurich were first admitted.
Dr Katilius said there was a lot of blood and said that following a scan “an opaque structure in the back of the throat” was identified and a stone was pulled out.
Brain injury
He said she suffered a traumatic brain injury, with blood discovered both inside and outside the skull.
Her friend Stacey Jurich who was also called as a witness said in court, said:
“I heard my head being hit and I felt excruciating pain. And I lost my equilibrium.”
Jurich said she also saw her friend hit on the head. “She was not moving on the ground. The blood started coming out of her head. I took my jacket and supported her head as much as I could. And I ran for help.”
Mother
Irish Central reports that Natasha’s mother, Sheila, said her daughter can barely speak following the attack:
Sheila told the court that her daughter, a former student at the University College Dublin, was left unable to walk or speak more than a few words. She said her daughter was once a good sketch artist but now only scribbles. She is unable to hold a conversation and suffered from infections and seizures.
Read:Friend of Irish student tells Chicago court of savage attack>
Read: Father speaks about Natasha McShane’s struggles a year on from brutal attack>
