Judges cry after seeing pictures of 8-year-old girl brutally tortured and raped

FLORIDA: A courtroom in Florida wore a mourning look when a jury hearing rape-murder case of 8-year-old girl was shown pictures of a battered body of Cherish Perrywinkle after brutal torture and rape by a 61-year-old man.

The photos were so disturbing that the medical examiner giving evidence about the girl’s injuries needed break from giving evidence because she was so traumatised.

Cherish Perrywinkle’s remains were so disfigured, Jacksonville chief medical examiner Dr Valerie Rao had to stop her testimony when photos were displayed, according to The Sun.

She told the Florida court: ‘She had so much trauma, the anatomy was totally distorted by the injury she suffered. ‘She died after she sustained tremendous force on her neck such that she could not breathe.’

Visibly shaken, she then said: ‘I’m sorry, I need to take a break. I need just 5 minutes.’

Donald Smith, the man accused of killing Cherish turned his back when the disturbing photos were shown.

The five-year-old was lured away from her mother while out shopping in June, 2013 and was found dead hours later.

Smith, 61, is standing trial on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery.

He had been on the sex offenders list since 1993 and had been released from jail just 21 days before Cherish was snatched and killed. Cherish’s body was covered in severe injuries, abrasions and contusions and she was strangled, tortured and raped.

He faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of the murder charge. State Attorney Melissa Nelson said: ‘Cherish did not die quickly, and she did not die easily, in fact, hers was a brutal and tortured death.’

Smith’s trial was repeatedly put on hold due to the controversy over Florida’s death penalty procedure, which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2016. Last March, the Florida Legislature passed a new law requiring a unanimous recommendation from a jury before a judge could hand down the death penalty.

VIDEO: When the suspect lured the girl away