COURT: An artist's sketch of Gerard Baden-Clay during the committal hearing in Brisbane. Source: The Courier-Mail
EVIDENCE: Toni McHugh had an affair with Gerard Baden-Clay. Picture: File Source: The Courier-Mail
FOLLOW our rolling coverage of day four of the hearing to determine whether Gerard Baden-Clay will stand trial for the murder of his wife, Allison.
9.57am: The first witness to give evidence, Dr Margaret Stark, has told the Brisbane Magistrates Court she studied images of injuries on Gerard Baden-Clay's body at the request of investigating detectives.
Dr Stark, the director of the NSW Police clinical forensic medicine unit, said it was her opinion that the deep gouges on Gerard Baden-Clay's face were caused by fingernails.
She said superficial scratches next to the gouges were caused later - likely by a razor blade.
''(Your report said) the more trivial injuries are fairly characteristic of razor cuts and appear more recent,'' prosecutor Danny Boyle said.
He asked why Dr Stark believed the larger scratches were caused by fingernails.
''The abrasions are wider and not equal, sort of irregular,'' she said.
''That is suggestive that they could have been caused by fingernails.''
Dr Stark told the court Allison's fingernails were long enough to have caused such damage.
Defence barrister Peter Davis asked why one of the ''fingernail scratches'' moved away at a different angle to the others.
Dr Stark explained it was because neither the person scratching or the person being scratched would have remained perfectly still.
''It's a dynamic situation,'' she said.
''Is there any science to this, or is it just speculation?'' Mr Davis asked.
''I don't think there are any published papers quoting the dynamics of fingernails...it's almost just common sense,'' she replied.
Mr Davis said Dr Stark could not give expert evidence on ''common sense''.
''I suppose it's years of experience examining (scratch injuries),'' she said.
9am: Gerard Baden-Clay's mistress Toni McHugh will take the stand this morning on day four of a hearing that will determine whether he will stand trial for the murder of his wife.
Baden-Clay, 42, is charged with murdering his wife Allison and interfering with her corpse.
Allison was reported missing by her husband on April 20, 2012.
He told police he had left her watching The Footy Show when he went to bed the night before and woke up to find her gone.
Her body was found 10 days later on the banks of the Kholo Creek.
Chief Magistrate Brendan Butler will decide whether there is enough evidence to send the real estate agent to trial at the end of the six-day committal hearing.
Today's hearing will start at 9.30am.
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