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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF

JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURT,

S I TT ING AT KANSAS CI TY

STATE OF MI SSOURI,

Plaintiff,

vs.

BYRON CASE,

No. CR200l--03527

De fendant

DEPOSITION OF CHASE.BLANCHARD, MD, a

Vnitness, taken on behalf of the Defendant before

Amy L. Farmer, CSR, pursuant to Agreement on the

sth day of March, 2002r dt the offices of The

Jackson County Medical Examiner, 660 East 2AEr-

Street, Kansas City, Missouri.

CGPY9EOO NUDIAN CREEK PA3Iilf\TAY, SIIITE AO5OVERLAilID PARK' KAlIgA"g 664101.800.?48.7611 . 915.517.8800 . FAX 919.51?.8860

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APPEARANCES

Appearing for the Plaintiff was

Ms. Theresa Crayon of The ,fackson County

Prosecutor's Office, 415 East L2th Street, Kansas

City, MO 6401 6.

Appearing for

Mr. Horton Lance of The

Defender Syst€Irrr TriaI

Tower / 2}th FIoor, 324

City, MO 64L06.

INDEX

WTTNESS:

CHASE BLANCHARD, MD

Examination by Mr. Lance

Examlnation by Ms. Crayon

EXHIBITS:

(None )

the Defendant was

Missouri State Public

Division-District L6, Oak

East LLth Street, Kansas

PAGE:

3

44

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(Deposition comnenced at 3:00 p.m.

CHASE BLANCHARD, MD,

being first duly sworn, testified und.er oath as

follows:

BY MR.

Q.

A.

Q.

today

A.

Q.

make a

Yes.

Actua l1y

record..

EXA}4INATION

LANCE:

For the record, please state your name.

Doctor Chase Blanchard, B-L-A-N-C-H-A-R-D.

You understand wetve alI convened here

for purposes of what I s called a deposition?

I think Ms. Crayon wanted to

MS. CRAYON: Just for purposes of

everybody being clear as to why we ! re having

Dr. Blanchard. testify in this case. Dr. Thomas

Young who actually authored the autopsy report isunavailable for trial the week of Apri} 29th and

because we had such a difficult time getting allthe parties together on a special setting, ratherthan try to reset when Dr. Young was going to be

1n town and available to testify, Dr; Blanchard

agreed to testify on his behalf off of his report.

I I m sure

and a I1

Mr. .Lance will cover her qualifications

of that, but that I s the purpose for taking

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her deposition instead of Dr. Young'so

Q. (By Mr . Lance ) for the record, ptease

state your current employment

A. Itm the deputy medical examiner at the

Jackson County Medical Examinert s Office in Kansas

City, Missouri.

A. Who is the medical examiner?

A. .Doctor Thomas Young

O. How many deputy medical examiners are

there ?

A. One.

O. What was your start date with the ,fackson

County Medical Exarnj-ner's Office

A. ,June 2O0L.

O. What is your undergraduate degree?

A. A BA at Dartmouth College in philosophy

and psychology

O. What was your graduate studies?

A. Graduate studies, I got an MD at

Hahnemann University in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania.

O. What year did you graduate med school?

A. 1989.

0. Where was your residency?

A. At MCP Hahnemann University in

9AOO IIIDIAN CREEK PASKWAY, g[IfTE ROS

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A.

Philadelphia. That was a residency in combined

anatomic and clinical pathology.

O. What was your first employment after your

re s idency?

I did a year of post-graduate specialty

training 1n forensic pathology. I was a forensicpathology fellow in Philadelphia from ,Ju1y of 2000

to .June of 2001 before I came to Kansas City

0. Would those studies have been at a

particular institution?A. At the medical examiner I s office in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

O. Is that under the title of a particular

county or was it a city?A. Itrs a city medical examinerrs office.

The fellowship that I did was affiliated with MCP

Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.

O. Who was your direct supervisor during

that fellowship?

A. Doctor Haresh Mirchandani,

M- I-R.C-H-A-N-D.A.N- I .

O. After your residency and your fellowship,what was your next employment?

A. The employment that I am at at thiscurrent time.

I9EOO IIIDIAN CREEIK PAffTWAY, SUITE AO5OVERI,AITD PA.NK, I(ATISA,S 664101.800.748.7611 I 916.g17.8800 . FAX 919.51?.8880

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A;

Q.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

clinical pathology and I have a separate board

certification in forensic pathology.

O. The board certification in forensicpathology, when did you obtain that?

A. In November, 2001.

O. Have you had a chance before we began

today to review Dr. Youngrs autopsy report?

That ' s been s ince ,June ?

Correct.

Less than a year?

Correct.

Are you board certified in pathology?

Yes. Irm board certified in anatomic and

Yes.

In addition to reviewing his typewritten

did you take to prepare

are those

the t ab le

9AOO I}UDIAN CNSEK PASICWAY, SIJITE AOEOVIIRI"AIUD PARK, KANSA^9 664101.8O0.?48.?B1I . 916.61?.8800 o FAX 9l.g.5l?.8860

report, what other steps

for today' s deposition?

A. I reviewed photographs and the toxj.cology

report and the medical investigator I s scene

repo rt .

Q. The photographs you review€d,

the photographs that I can see out on

to day ?

A. Yes.

O. I understand that there were also some

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crj-me scene photos of the

l ying at the cr ime s cerle .

anything like that'?

body where

Have you

it was

Ioo ked

found

at

A. No.

O. So when you are referring to photos, you

are talking about photos that were taken during

the actual autopsy?

A.

Q.

photos?

A. Noo

0r Did

bench notes,

do ing during

A.

Q.

Correct.

Itrave you had a chance to review any other

Dr. Young take what f would calt

hand.written notes of what he was

the autops y?

Yes.

Have you had a chance to look at

Dr . Young t s bench notes ?

you put on a body diagram.

Q. AlI right. Is it fair to

studied that intensively?

A. Briefly I glanced at these notes which

t

A. Correct, not in detail. Everything on

this in routine events wilt be record.ed in the

autopsy report.

Q. Do you believe all the handwriting there

say you haven t t

9AOO IIIDI.AN CNSEK PASKTTAY, SUTTE 8OSOVERI"AT{TD PA3K, KA}TSA.,g 664101.800.748.?511 . 915.51?.880O . FAX 919.617.8850

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A.

Q.

A.

is Dr. Young's?

A. Yes.

Q., What did you call that diagram?

A. Body diagram

O. Are there any other existing bench notes

from Dr. Youngts work?

A. Not that I reviewed.

O. .That I s f ine. The very f irst page ofDr. Youngrs report indicates cause of death,

gunshot wound?

Yes.

Unknown type of gun?

Co rre ct .

O. Did you notice anything that you feelshould have been included in Dr. Youngrs report?

A. No.

O. Anything stand out that you would have

put into the report that is not in there?

A. No.

O. Irm trying to be more specific as to a

finding as to the type of weapon involved. Isthere anything additional you would have put intothe report as to the comment about unknown

fi rearm?

A. No

9AOO NTDIAN CREEK PA3IilYAY, SUTTE A06O\TERI,AIID PARK, KANSA,S 66A101.800.?48.?6II o 9I9.51?.88OO . FAX 915.91?.88S0

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Q.

belief

us ed in

A.

handgun

Q.

As an expert in pathology, do you have a

as to which type of firearm would have been

this case most likely?I believe it could have been either a

or a rifle most likely.There is mention in the autopsy of a

bullet tragment?

A. Correct.

O. Have you looked at the bullet fragment

itsel f?

A. No, I did not .

0. Have you looked

bullet fragment?

A.

Q.

at any photographs of the

No, I did not.

What is your opinion as to whether or not

a shotgun may have been possibly used?

A. Shotgun, thatfs possible, but more likelyto be a rifle or a handgun.

O. What factors in the autopsy stood out

that as an expert would give you the opinion thatit t s more likely to be a rifle than a. shotgun?

A. Because the type of wound is in the nose.

When you reapproximate the skin, there is a

circular defect and the wound travels through the

head and there is an exit in the back. Doctor

geOO IIUDIA\T CREEK PAIKIVAY, SUIIE AOEOVERLAI\ID PARK, K^LITSA,9 66e1O1.800.748.761 I . 915.51?.8800 . FA.X 916.51?.8860

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Q.

A.

Q.

Young visualized soot within the wound under the

dissecting scope. Both of these these

characteristics are seen with either handgun or

ri f l-e wounds .

A shotgun wound., especially if the

shotgun had pelIets, would look a lot different..

You would see individual pellets in the brain,

which he .didntt find or because of the soot within

the wound, you should. have found a wadd.ing from

the shotgun possibly within the head.

O. Is it possible that this fatal wound

could have been from a shotgun with a slug as:

oppos ed to pel lets ?

A. That is possible.

realm of possibility?So it's within the

Co rre ct .

And for some reason the wadding was not

I o cat ed?

A. Correct.

O. Again, back to your expert opinion. Idontt want to put word.s in your mouth. Are you

saying that j.t's more likeIy that a rifle was used

instead of a shotgun or is that going too far?

A. The most likely is a rifle or a handgun.

Shotgun is possible, but less likely in my

9EOO NTDIAN CREEK PARKVYAY, SIIffE A06OVERI,AIVD PA.N,K, KA}TSAS 664101.800.?48.?811 . 915.51?.8800 . FA:f 916.51?.8850

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tt

op l-n ]. oll .

Q. If

handgurrr is

the o the r?

A.

repo rt a

Q. If

us€d, would

caliber of

A.

Q.

we di d narrow

one of those

it down to a

options more

rifle and a

I i ke 1y than

I couldnlt teII you from reviewing the

A. Noo

Q. If we ever did reach the opinion a

handgun was usedr. do you have any way of knowing

the caliber of the handgun that was used?

A. No, not from reviewing this report or

looking at these picture.

Q. so this fatal wound could have been from

a .22 caliber pistol?

we re ached a conclus ion a ri f Ie was

you have any way of estimating the

the rifle involved?

It I s possible o

I noticed you hesitated. Can you explain

that for the record?

A. In my opinion, it seems

higher velocity with this wound.

lower velocity. It t s within the

possibility.

type of wound to be more

that.22

realm

there

is a

of

was a

little

Q. Was this the

gEOO IIUDIAN CNSIIK PARKVYAY, SIITE AO5OVERI,AI\TD PARK, KAITSA,S 664101.800.748.?6Il o 915.517.880O . FAX 916.51?.8850

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like a .38 caliber pistol?

t answer -- I cantt answer that

of the report and phoLographs.

do you have any opinion on what

weapon was used in this homicide?

A.

O. Today do you have an opinion whether or

not a pistol was used or a rifle?

consistent with

A. I canl

fron my review

Q. Today

type of caliber

A.

Q.

A.

want ed

rifle

look.

Q..

No.

What type of additional information would

I

you probably need in order to make that type of

determination if it was a rifle or not?

A. PosSibly examination of the bulletfragment might be of some use.

O. Are you telling us today that your

opinion could change after you have looked at the

actual bul-1et fragment?

That's not my area of expertise. If one

to explore areas to differentiate between a

or a handgun, that might with be one way toThat is not my particular area.

f misunderstood. I thought you were

suggesting you could look. Youfre saying higher

ballistics experts?

A. Co rre ct .

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A.

these records that indicates that.

Q. I just want to clarify because I think we

were both talking at the same time. Are you

saying that if you personally looked at the bulletfragment, would that give you any insight?

Q.

jrev]. ew

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

consistent

A. It

Q. In

to deternine

stranger or

A. Noo

To your knowledge, h?s any ballisticsbeen done on that bul l et f ragment ?

To my knowledge, there is nothing in

No.

Not you personally?

Not me personall.y.

Are the .autopsy findings in this homicide

consistent with death by a gunshot from a rifle?A. Yes, you could say itts consistent with.

O. Are the autopsy findings in this homicide

consistent with a gunshot from a shotgun?

A. I would. not say unless there was a

slug, not a shotgun wound with peIlet ammunj-tion.

O. Are the autopsy findings in this homicide

with a gunshot wound from a handgun?

could be.

your expert opinion, is there any way

i f this homicide was committed by a

an acquaintance of the victim?

gEOO IIUDIAN CREEK PARKWAY, gIIffE A06OVERI"AIID PAIK, KAITSA,S 664101.800.?48.7511 . 915.51?.880O . FAX 915.5I7.8860

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O. Is there any way you could determine thatfrom reviewing the autopsy report?

the autopsy report

woul-d have been an

A. No.

i s the re anything in

that to you points that thisa cqua i nt ance o f the vi ct im?

A.

Q.

Q. .Do

whether it

anything?

No.

Just for example,

you have any furtherwas an acquaintance or

op inion as toIa sE,ranger or

A. ,Just from reviewing the report and

looking at the pictures, I personally canf t tel1whether the person who did this was an

acquaintance or a stranger.

nature of the wound.

O. Have you formed an

this homicide was caused by

stranger?

A. No.

Q. ,Just so you

going to try to page

autopsy report with

A. Certainly.

a. This is the

October 23rd of t97?

AII I can tell is the

opinion as to whether

an acquaintance or a

know whe re I 'm go ing, I , m

through some parts of this

yol].

autopsy that was conducted on

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A.

Q.

A.

Q.

medical

reviewed

A.

Q.

up some

re ferred

.A.

report.

A.

Harlarl .

Q.

Correct.

At 9:30 inCo rre ct .

the mornin g?

0. How many pages is that report?

A. Two .

A. Who would. have cond.ucted that or who

would have filled out that report?

A. The j-nvestigator from the medical

examiner I s office.

O. That personfs name would. be?

A. Boyd Harlan.

O. Is there anyone assisting him or is itsimply Boyd HarIan?

On the next page it

examiner investigatorthat document ?

talks about thet s report. Have you

9AOO IIilDIAN CREff( PASKVIIAY, SUTTE EO6OVEIRI"ATUD PA3K, KAITSA,S 66EIO1.800.?48.?51I . 915.517.8800 . FAX 9I5.51?.8850

Yes.

Actually for the record, you are holding

paperwork. Is that the report that isto by Dr. Young?

Yes, the medical examiner investigator

r believe it was just rnvestigator Boyd

You said you had a chance to review that

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two-page document ?

A.

Q.

do cument

that you

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Yes.

I s there anything in that two-page

that would change any o f the. opinions

have stated so far today?

No

Referring back to Dr. Youngts report

then, a l.ot of this is just because I'm not a

doctor and I rm not familiar with the medical

terminology. This terrn herer radiodense bulletfragments, what is that referring to?

A. That j us t means you can s ee it in the

x-ray. It looks like a white blob in the x-ray.

Q. In Dr . Young t s report it mentions bul let

fragmengs, plural. Is that your understanding thatthere were -:

A. Yes.

Have you looked at these X-rays?

No, I have not.

Do you know how many f ragments we I re

talking about?

A. No.

O. If you looked at .the x-rays and saw how

many fragments we I re talking about, would thatperhaps change you opinion about anything we have

9AOO IIIDIAN CREEK PANKWAY, SU TE AOSovERr,aNrD PAAK, KArirSA"g 66410I.800.748.7611 r 916.517.880O . FAX 915.517.8880

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discussed so far today?

A.

Q.

Perhdps r but I doubt it.

If you have an impression, do

are very small bullet fragmentsthese

knowI

how big they are?

you know i f

or you don t t

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A. On the x-ray, generally the x-ray

magnifies any fragments. When you are doing the

autopsy, most of the time you are able to find the

largest fragment perhaps. The other ones, if they

are very small, you are unable to find them.

O. Do you think itrs possible they talkabout multiple fragments, could that indicatethese are shotgun pellets?

I A.

Q.

x- rays ?

Noo

You know that without looking at the

A. In my opinion, it would have been

described as pellets. It Looks a lot differentIt's little round circles.

Q. That is based on your experience as a

pathologist?

A. Correct.

O. At the bottom of that page it mentions

rigor mortis. For the record, what is rigormorti s ?

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A.

de ath .

Q.

Does that

A.

That is stiffening of the muscles after

The indi cat ion i s it ' s we 1I deve loped .

help you estimate a time a death?

It is helpful in estimation of time of

death

O. Did Dr. Young in his report estimate a

time of death?

A. He did not specify a time of death

O. .In your expert opinion from reviewing alL

these documents, can you estimate a time of death?

A. From the description of rigor mortis

being well developed and livor mortis, which islividity, that I s blood settling after the person

dies . He r says j.t's mostly f ixed but f ocallyblanching. Approximately t2 hours give or take

several hours. Eight to !2, anywhere from eightto L2 to 'perhaps 16 . That depends on the

temperature also

O. You are estimating hours back from the

time of the actual autopsy?

A. That would be from the time that the

person died to the time of the autopsy. That

could be putting the person in the cooler can

slow everything down. Itfs more from the time the

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person died to maybe the time the person came to

the medical examinerts office. Itrs extremely

variable. The main points are that there is no

decomposition and there is some rigorr so it would

be anywhere from between six up to even 24 hours

if you take into account that the person was put

into the body cooler.

O. Again, just for the record, six to 24

hours f rom the time o f the autopsy?

24

O. Skipping back to Boyd Harlanr s report forjust a second. On the top of page 2 it says the

body is a plus two rigor mortj-s. Do you have any

idea what they are talking about?

A. That means thatrs very subjective. Idontt even know what the top number is that he isreferring to, whether itrs three plus or ten pIus.

To me that means there is some rigor mortis thathe can appreclate. This 1s probably the most

accurate report to look at is what thg

lnvestigator found at the scene in terms of when

the person. died, so this would be anywhere from

eight to L2 hours. That is the range.

Q. Do you work with Boyd Harlan?

A.

hour s l-r

Correct. It could be even more than

the pe rson was in a coo l er .

I

93OO II{IDIAN CREF,K PASKT/'IAY, SIITE AOtsO\MRI,AITD PA3K, KATISA-g 66A101.800.?48.751I . 916.517,880O . FAX 916.617.8860

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A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

passed away.

A. Do you know

A. .No. He I s an

Q. When it says

about two hours or is

familiar with?

No.

Have you eve r rne t Bo yd Har l an ?

No.

Do you know if Boyd Harlan is a doctor?

He t s an investigator. f believe he I s

if he was a pathologist?

inves tigator .

two plusr is

that a scale

he tal king

that I'm not

tA. Irve seen people use that to mean

moderate rigor mortj.s.

0. So two plus doesntt mean two hours

necessarily?

A. No, no, no. Itrs just a very subjectiveway of saying like zero I would take to mean

that there was no rigor mortis, the body is just

floppyi one plus, there is a little bit; two plus

there is more; three plusr'there is a lot. Iwould say moderate.

O. So for the record, when Mr. Harlan refersto two plus rigor mortis, hets not referring to

two hours in any way?

A. No.

9POO IIIDIAN CNEEK PASMIAY, gIIfTE AO5OVEIRI,AND PANK, KANSAS 66R1O1.8OO,748.78I1 o 915.51?.88OO r FAX 915.91?.8860

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A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Q. I tm sorry

Dr. Ygungts report.

Dr. Youngts report,

three fine punctate

to jump around. Back to

At the top of page 3 of

in the s econd l ine i t ment ions

abras ions ?

A. Punctate abrasions, basically an abrasion

is a scrape and punctate to me means very small,

circular type thing.

O. Is there any significance to these

abrasions in relation to the shooting death?

Not that I can see.

Again, not as a doctorr I just have to

ask these questions if that is something irnportant

that points to that it was a shooting. Is there

any way to tell if these abrasions occurred at the

moment of shooting?

A. No, it's not. In my opinion, these are

not important in terms of helping us with the

description of the gunshot wound.

Q. Is it possible these three fine abrasions

occurred at the moment of the homicid.e when the

person fell to the ground for example?

Co rre ct .

What are punctate abrasions?

ftrs possible, yes.

The next sentence mentions lesions Is

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there any significance to that at all?

22

not

It I s

does

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A.

Q,

A.

Q.

The face reveals fine acneiform lesions.

I t ' s re f erring to acne ?

s i gni fi cant . Let I s s kip down

paragraph, description of the:

described as a contact gunshot

that mean?

Yes, just some aclLe.

Itm sorry. I can see that that is

to the bottom

gunshot wound..

wound. What

A. Contact means the basically the muzzle of

the weapon is actually at the person's skin almost

touching the skin or pressing into the skin,

contacting.

O. How d.oes the pathologist know it was a

contact wound as opposed to a sniper shooting from

50 yards away?

A. One of the main findings is to find soot

within the depths of the wound. Other times

depending on the type of weapon, you might see a

mrtzzle abrasionr or you might see the wound has

this stellate appearance, which is star-shaped

lacerations coming out, which she does have. That

occurs when there is an explosion gas underneath

the skin and it explodes back and causes these

tears. You can see that with a contact.

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Q.

50-yard

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

before

vi ct im'

So that

Co rre ct

How far

there i s

s face?

Does that star type pattern occur from

distance?

No.

rs one of the indicators here?

back does a gunman have to be

no longer soot appearing on the

I

A. Generally six inches. Thatfs variable

depend.ing on the weapon and the ammunition.

O. Are you telling us in your opinion the

gun was closer than six j-nches away from the

victi.mr s face?

A. Closer than six inches and in contact

because of the other features I mentioned with the

tears and there was soot within the wound, in the

depths of the wound, that you saw.

O. Can that occur from six inches away?

A. It t s possible. Six inches away would

look more like a round hol-e and another circlearound it with soot.

O. What do we have here, just one torn?

A. There is basically these stellatelesions. If you put it back together, there is a

hole. Instead of the soot being around it in a

gEOO IIIDIAN CREEK PARKT/YAY, SIIITE AO5OVERITAIID PARK, KA]ISA,S 66A101.800.748.7511 . 915.61?.8800 . FAX 915.6L7.8850

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circular pattern, it's inside the wound.

O. .These obviously aren t t your f indings .

you agree this was a contact gunshot wound.?

Do

A.

Q.

Yes

In your opinion, how close was the nuzzle

wound was fired?

was touching the skin

line it says, "The

inches inf erior. 'r

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of the gun when the fatal

A. In my opinion, it

or extremely close.

Q. The skin of the victim's nose?

A. Correct.

Q. In that same first

entry wound four and a half

What does that mean?

A. that just means he is describing where it

was. The entry wound is four and a half inches to

the top of the head. It is four and a half inches

below the top of the head in the midfine.

O. The next phrase Ifm sorry. I had a

questj-on. It says, "Superiorly along the nasaL

septum. "

A.

Q.

Okay.

Irm not famifiar with that phraser

superiorly.A. Superior means above. Basically this

whole sentencer "Gaping, rad.ially oriented

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lacerations extend into the skin superior to the

vermilion border of the upper lip. r' That t s righthere. AIl he is saying is that there are allthese l-acerations radially extending like the

spokes of a wheel all the way to this border of

the upper lip along both nasal labial folds along

here on the side of the nose'and superiorly along

the nasal septum.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Superiorly means above the nasal septum?

Yes.

Okay.

The way he is describing it -- if you

look at the pictures, this wound does cause a

defect in the area of the nose so that he can

actually see this laceration kind of going j-nto

the nose where the septum is in the middle of the

no se

0. The next sentence mentions when he triesto put a size on the entry defect, he says it'smeasured about three-eighths in diameter.

A. Correct.

O. Does that help you make an opinion as to

what type of firearm was used?

No.

Thatts no help at all?

A.

Q.

gEOO INDIAN CREEK PASITVYAY, gUfTB AO5OVERLAIVD PAn-K, KAITSA"S 664101.8OO.748.75II o 915.517.8800 o FA.X 915.517.8850

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A. No.

O. The next sentence mentions rnuttiple dark

particl-es'which appear to be gun powder particles.

Does that mean that he is not sure that they are

gunpowder particlesr ox what is your opinion

there ?

A. No. I think he means it I s gunpowder

particles.. Itrs just the way he's writing.

0. It says, "They appear to be gunpowder

particles and they adhere to the skin of the

face. " Is this the same thing as the soot that we

have already talked about or is this somethj-ng

different ?

A. Thatts a slight difference. A gunpowd.er

particle usually is a piece of gunpowd.er that

night not be fully burned or the soot is Like

carbonaceous debris and is very, very fine likesoot you would see if you had a fire in a

fireplace. Gunpowder particl-es actually are maybe

a little bit bigger than the soot. Thatfs the

-di f f erence that I see .

O. He mentions some of these gunpowder

particLes ar'€ around the lips and. the anteriorchin. Where is the anterior chin?

A. Here

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9AOO NUDIAN CREIIK PAff$IAY, SUTTE A06OVEru,AI\ID PA3K, KANSA,S 664101.800.748.?511 o 915.517.8800 r FAX 915.91?.8850

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Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

chin?

A. Under . That ' s the i-nf erio r . The

anterior chin is here. Anterior is forward.

0. A slight dark sooty deposit is noted

around the face. Does.that influence your opinion

as to whether the gun cou1d have been six inches

away or farther?

A. This sentence

as to where it is, so

opinion either way. AII the other descriptionsthat he has are more influential in my opinion

than that sentence.

O. When you reviewed the autopsy

photographs, were you able to see the slight dark

sooty deposit?

Ri ght up front ?

Ye s, j us t the frontWhat would you call

Co rre ct .

What was your answer?

o f the chin .

this part of the

is not extremely specific

i t doe sn t t inf luence my

Not from these photographs.

For the record, you are looking at the

autopsy photographs ?

A. Not specifically the sooty deposit

These photographs are too reduced in size.

9AOO IIUDIAN CREEIK PASITVITAY, SUTTE ROEOVERI,AI\TD PA3K, KAI\TSA,S 664101.800.'148.7611 . 915.61?.8800 . FAX 915.51?.8850

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0. The last sentence says no stippling.What is he referring to there?

A. Stippling is an effect that you get on

the skin if a piece of gunpowder actually makes a

tattoo into the skin. It looks like a red dot.

Some of the gun powder wifl be soot, some of itstays in smal-l particles. If it hits your skin,it will m,ake a red dot. That usually means if you

see gunpowder stippling, that the muzzle of the;weapon is anywhere from six inches to three feet

away.

From a certain distance -- in other

words, from say six inches or closer, yout1l onlyget soot. If the weapon is from sj-x inches tothree feet, youf 11 get some soot and stippling.Actuaffy, youf11 get stippling. Itrs an overlap.Halfway in between you might get a little bit ofsoot, but you'1I get some stippling. Back to

three feetr you are only going to get stipplingand no soot

O. The fact that there is no stipplingpresent, is that an important factor indetermining whether this was a contact gunshot

wound?

rt t s important in determining that it'sI

98OO IIUDIAN CREEK PANKIVAY, SUTrE AO5OVEru..AIID PA3.K, KANSA,S 66A101.8OO.?48.?SII o 915.51?.88OO r FAX 9lg.gl?.BBEO

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another very good sign that it was less than sixinches. If it had been greater than approximately

six inches, you would have seen stippling.Just for the record, wetre not talking

sniper shoot ing f rom 10 0 yards ?

Co rre ct .

That's not possible herer is it?

Co rre ct .

O. Flipping over to the top of page 4 of

Dr. Youngr s report, it mentions, rrThe f acialstructures reveal palpable comminuted fractures.First of all, what are palpable comminuted

fracture s ?

A. Palpable just means you can feel it.Comminuted juqt means mu1tip1e. Basically he puts

his hand.s on the face and he could feet that itwas all cracked underneath and fractured just by

feeling it.

Q. Her cheekbones were cracked?

A. Correct.

Q. It says there -- it sounds like there

were muttiple fractures?

A. Yes. Both inferior orbital rims, thatfsjust underneath the bottom of the ey€r the zygome

is the cheeks, the maxilla is the upper jaw and

Q.

about a

A.

Q.

A.

I

9AOO IIilDIAN CREEK PASKWAY, STIITE EO6oVERLAND PA3,K, KANSA''$ 66A101.80O.?48.?Ef I . 915.51?.880O . FAI( 915.51?.8860

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Q.

A.

A.

Q.

the mandible is the lower jaw.

Q. The fact that there were

fractures/ does that give you any

what type of weapon was used?

mult ipl e

indi cat ion o f

matter at

wound, itls very

fractures, isri f 1e was used?

A.

Q.

Noo

Li ke a high caliber or does iralI?

A. Because it! s a contact

difficult. I cantt tell you.

Q. The mult ipl e comminuted

that an indication to you that a

A.

Q.

A.

fracture s .

It t s possible.

Okay.

It doesn't teII me either wdy, the

It could have

Yes o

been a pistol

98OO NTOTEW CREEK PARKTIIAY, SUTTE! AO5o\IERLAI{ID PARK, KAIISA,S 66e1O1.800.148.?511 . 915.517.8800 . FAX 915.517.8860

stitl?

0. When we talk about the -- I believe he

was talking about the exit wound where he mentions

gaping fractures.Correct.

Hets tatking about the exit wound there,

right?

A. No. Thatts further down.

0. It says, "Gaping fractures involve the

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anterior cranial fossae." What is

cranial fossa?

A. Thatts just the front of

saying there were gaping fractures

the bone in the f ront o f the bra in

more fractures came out from there

basically through the skul1.

Q.

the exit wound,

the next s ent en c e

right?

the anterior

the brairr . He I s

bas ica 1 1y in

and from those,

and went

9EOO INDIAN CREEK PASKSYAY, SUTTE EOSOVERI,AIVD PARK, I(AITSA,g 664101.800.?48.?611 . 915,q1?.88OO r FAX 915.51?.8850

The fact that Dr. Young determi ned gaping

fractures, is he trying to say these are largerthan normally seen?

A. Yes. He is describing to describe thatinstead of just a hairline fracture where you

could see a line, that you might actually be able

to see a separation in the bones. That I s what Itake it to mean

O. In your expert opinion, does that help

you to determine what type of firearm may have

been used?

A. No.

Q. Then in he talks about

A. Co rre ct . It say$r ttFive-and-d.-hatf-inch

laceration lies in the posteriorlong transverse

scalp. rr

Q. Does that strike you as unusual that the

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exit wound would be five and a half inches long?

A. Not necessarily.

O. As a Iay person, that just sounds like a

O. $fhat does that mean?

A. A margj-naI abrasion is somethi-ng you see

on an entrance wound when the bullet is passing

through the skin and it j.ndents the skin and

you'11 see an abrasion around the outside. One of

the hallmarks of an exit wound is that it does not

have the marginal abrasion.

Q. The fact that the exit wound created a

five-and-a-ha1f-inch laceration, does thatindicate to you something stronger than a pistolwas used?

I can t t teI I you either way.

It says r " The conf luence o f thes e

lacerati-ons lie in the midline four inches

i-nferior. " Do you see that sentence?

A. Yes. IIe is just basically positioningwhere the wound is, saying the midd.le part ofwhere this is is four inches below the top of the

huge l-aceration

A. Exit wounds can look

The nain po int that he s ays in

is no marginal abras ion .

A.

Q.

all different ways.

here is that there

gEOO IITDIAN CREEK PANKWAY, SUTTE A06O\MRI,AIVD PARK, KAIISAS 66A101.qOO.?48.?611 . 915.51?.880O . FAX 915.5I?.8880

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head

0. I believe the entry wound was four and a

half inches inferior?A. Right

O. And he is now saying the exit wound was

four inches inferior?

A.

Q.

Ri ght .

So in your expert opinion, was the bullettraveling slightly downward?

A. That would be slightly up if you have

the head. in the anatomlcal position, and that I s

the key phrase, just standing like this and ittsfour and a half inches down, it goes in and itcomes out four inches, it I s going to be slightlyupwards. Do you see what T mean? If the entrance

is four and a half inches below, thatts a halfinch lower than where it is coming out.

O. Thatrs assuming she is in the straight-upposition?

A. Correct. All I can telI you is that ishow it traveled through her body. I can, t tellyou how her head was at the time that the wound

happened.

O. So if the vict.im were stand.ing straightup at the time of the gunshot, the bullet would

98OO IIUDIAN CNSEK PARKVITAY, SIITTE EO5O\TEru"AIVD PARKN KANSA,S 66A101.800.748.7511 . 919.5I?.8800 . FAX 919.91?.8860

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straight up, but you could have your chin down or

your chin up. Therets so many variables that the

only thing I can telI you is if the body is in the

anatomic position, it was going from front to back

and slightly upward.. Thatts all I can tell you.

O. So just for example, the variabLes you

are talking about, if she had tipped her head or

leaned forward at the moment of the gunshot, allbets are off?

have been

A.

Q.

A.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

traveling slightly downward?

No, slightly upward.

'Slightly upward?

Thatrs depending you could be ,standing

Any of those would affect the wound path.

All of those are possible, right? I

t Correct.

Another example would be if she had tried

to avoid the wound by jerking her head backwards,

that might affect the wound path also?

guess I only gave two examples

possible, right?i

A. Those are possible.

O. The next paragraph talks about fracturesin the foramen magnum. What is a foramen magnum?

A. The foramen magnum is basically a

. Both examples are

9AOO IIUDIAN CNEEK PARKTVAY, g[IfTE AO5OVERT"AIID PA3K, KAI{SA"S 66R1OL8OO.748.7611 . 915.51?.8800 . FAX 915.517.8850

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circular hole at the bottom of your skull where

your spinal cord connects to the bottom of your

brain

Q. The f oramen magnurrrr it t s not a bone?

A. It I s more a hole and a bone, foramen sortof means hole, magnum means big. If you pictureyour brain inside your skull and your spinal cord

is coming out to go down, there has to be some

kind of hole in the bottom for your spinal cord topass through. Thatrs where it goes through the

f oramen magntlm.

0. It doesnrt make sense to me. He says

there is fractures in the foramen magnum.

A. Yes. That actually pathologists

the technical term of the foramen magnum is of the

hole. A lot of times it's described as a fractureextending toward or possibly through the foramen

magnum. If you see a fracture going right to thathole and then maybe where the hole is there isnothing, but on the other side it continues again,

if that makes sense.

Think of a kitchen sink and you have the

bottom of the d.rain. If you had a big crack inthe bottom of the sink and then right where the

drain hole is it I s not there, but it continues on

9AOO NUDIAN CREEK PASKTfTIAY, SIIME AO5OVIIRLAIID PARK, KAI\TSA,S 66eIO1.800.748.7511 . 916.617.8800 . FAX 919.517.8860

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the other sides

area.

' Q. In that

fractured upper

A.

Q.

A.'

with the

Q.

occur at

that give

was used?

A.

Q.

same sentenc€r Dr.

vertebtdr so --

36

Young mentions

of it, it continues through that

A. Correct.

0. I just want to see if I understand that.The impact of the bullet fractured part of her

upper neck vertebrae?

Co rre ct .

I s it possible those fractures occurred

when she fell and hit the ground?

Itrs possible, but more likely associated

gunshot wound

If the fractured upper vertebrae didthe moment of the gunshot wound, d.oes

you an indication of what type of weapon

(

No

A couple of lines down it saysr "The

cerebeLlum and brainstem are not identified. " Vnlhy

is that significant or is it significant?A. To mean that means they were destroyed

basically from the gunshot wound.

O. When the bullet passed through, itdestroyed her brainstem?

gEOO NDIAN CREEK PANKNTAY, SIJTTE EO5OVERI.AITD PA3K, KA}ISAS 663101.800.748.7511 . 915.517.8800 o FAX 915.91?.8860

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A.

Q.

Co rre ct .

Does thatweapon was

No.

give you an

used?type o fA.

indi cat ion o f what

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O. Skipping on down the page to where itsays neck. It says, rrThere is slight hemorrhage.'f

Do you see that sentence?

A. Uh-huh.

O. Is there anything significant about the

slight hemorrhage in the neck?

A. No. He says, "Slight hemorrhage liesbeneath the precervical fascj.a in the upper

spine." That is just some fibrous tissues thatare in front of where the spine is. Probably when

this vertebra got broken, it leaked down a littlebit. Other than that, there is nothing extremely

s i gni fi cant

O. This slight hemorrh?g€r was he takingthat into account when he was trying to determine

if this was a contact wound?

A. This is way inside the neck. I donrtknow. I donrt think so. The answer is no. Ithas nothing to do with whether it's a contact

wound or not. Itts walz in the back of your neck

almost. You would have to remove the personfs

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38

neck.

O. So see what he is talking about?

A. Yes. Itrs like way back here. You would

only see it in an autopsy.

O. A couple of lines down it mentions some

hemorrhage around the pharynx. Anything

sigrnificant about that?

t

No

What could cause a sllght hemorrhage

around the victimt s pharynx?

A. With gunshot wounds she has some

facial fractures. Thatrs very conmon. Some of

the blood can seep down if you have fractures inyour face and jaw.

Q. So hets not even saying necessarily the

pharynx was injured?

A. No. He is just shying that he did see

some hemorrhage. My interpretation is that it I s

from probably some seepage from the facj-a1

fractures.

A.

Q.

Q. Flipping over to page 5.

again it says the contact wound?

A. Correct.

Q. I s there anything that we

about so far today that would make

In the summary

have t al ked

you o f the

9AOO NUDIAN CNSEK PARKT/TAY, SIITE AO5O\i:ERl,AlID PARK, KA'}ISA"S 664101.800.748.7811 . 916.91?.880O r FAX 915.517.8850

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opinion that.possibly this wag not a contact

wound.?

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

with a

A.

Q.

from a

A.

Q.

No.

You stand by Dr. Young's finding there?

Yes.

O. Beneath that under the large capital C,

again when he talks about the exit wound, he callsit a gaping defect. As a lay person, to me

picture it had to be a shotgun or something. Ijust want to ask one more time. The fact that he

says it I s a gaping lacerated defect, does thatindicate to you what type of weapon was used?

A. Not necessarily.

Q. I believe you did say today thi s fatal

a shotgunwound could have been consistent with

be ing us ed?

A. Po s s ib Iy dep ending on the t yp e o f

amrnunition, not shotgun with pellet ammunition.

rs this fatal homicide wound consistentgunshot being used with

Say that agairl .

fs it consistent with

shotgun slug?

f t's possible.

There is a lab report

a slug?

a gunshot wound

somewhere. You may

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not have

f ragment

anything

A.

Q.

is?

even seen it. It says

weighed 56.L grains.

to you?

No. That is beyond my

Do you know how much a

the buIlet

Does. that mean

area of expertise

grain of a bullet

A. No

MR. LANCE: what r would like to do

record. for a second and have her

Iab report if thatts okay.

MS . CRAYON: Yes .

(Of f the record. )

O (By Mr. Lance) Doctor Blanchard., priorto today, had you looked at any lab reports from

the regional crime Iab?

A. No.

Q. There is another

may not have seen it. ft

was s tanding when she was

that lab report?

is go off the

look at that

l ab report . Aga in, you

in,Ci cate s thi s vi ct irn

shot. Have you read

to look at a

3 by Robert F.

9AOO IIUDIAN CREEK PANKWAY, SUTTE EO6O\IERI,AND PARK, KANSAS 66A10I .8OO.?48.78I I . 915.517.8800 . FAX gl g.gl ?.8BDO

A. No

Q. Today have I asked you

report thatts calLed report No.

Booth?

A. Yes

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O. I guess I want to focus on the very lastparagraph there on page 1 of 2. The author ofthis report from the crime lab states, "The victimmust have been standing. " The sentence goes on.

IIm interested in that quote, 'f The victim must

have been standing. " In your expert opinion. you

have looked at all the autopsy photographs and the

autopsy itself, do you feel comfortable thatsomebody could make that kind of a statement?

A. This is not my area of expertise, but

reading that statement, I would think that there

might be some more latitude than just saying must

have been standin g.

Q. For the record, I agree with you. Why do

you say that is not your area of expertise?

A. This is criminalistics. I rm a forensicpathologist. It I s related, but it I s not my area,just like ballistics is not my area. I would

think from reading this report that itrsconsistent with the person standing and. fallingbackwards from the injuries I saw on the body. To

say must have been standing, I can think of some

other scenarios. If for some reason the person

might have been crouching a little bit or Ithink the word must is littIe too strong.

98OO IIilDIAN CREEK PANKNIAY, SIJME AOBOVIIRI"AT|TD PA.N,K, KAIISA"g 66A IO1.800.?48.7511 o 916.517.8800 o FAX 915.51?.88DO

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Q. Do

vi ctim coul d

starting to

them?

A. Yes

Q. Do

victim could

shot?

you agree

have been

walk away

a

you think

have even

that it t s

wa I ki*9,

from the

possible this

f o r. ex amp 1e,

person who shot

it's possible

been running

that the

as she was

A. It I s possible. I tm not this is from

my

photos, not from this report.

O. Not from

A.

Q.

A.

A.

Q.

Yes, it is possible.

Do you agree that it's also pos sible the

Not from reading thj-s.

This being lab report No . 3 ?

Correct.

0.. I think Irm about ready to wrap up. Iwant to make sure I t m not putting word.s in your

mouth. In your expert opinion as a pathologist,

this victim could have been walking also when she

was shot?

A. It I s possible, yes.

O. Her body could have fallen into that same

position?

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victim could have been threatened and already

lying on the ground and succumb to a person and

then was shot ?

A. I canft teII that from the review of the

report.

O. Would that be consistent with the autopsy

findings ?

A. The autopsy findings, it would be

possible from the autopsy findings.

O. Again, I feel like Itm almost leading you

too much there. Is there anything in the autopsy

findings that would prove conclusj-ve1y that thisvictim was not lying on her back already when she

was shot?

A. No. There is nothing in the autopsy

findings that would conclude either way real1y

whether she was lying down or standing up.

O. Maybe that was the question I should have

asked. Is there anything in the autopsy that

woutd indicate conclusively if the victim was

standing or sitting or lying down when she was

shot ?

A. No.

Q. Any way f or you a s

to make that determination?

an expert pathologist

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A. No.

Q. You

when she was

A. f t t s

agree she could have

shot and killed?

possible o

MR. LANCE: That' s

been sitting

aII the

today. I don' t

any que stions .

up

questions that I brought with me

know if the state's attorney has

BY MS . CRAYON:

0. To make

questions that Mr

based on whether

standing or Iying

that we have gone

Iooking at in the

be ing out I i ned. in

is that correct?

EXAMINAT ION

sure on this last group of

. Lance asked your your opinion

she was s itt ing or she i s

down and all those possibilities

through are based on what you I re

autopsy report, not what is

the gional crime lab report;

9EOO ITIDIAN CREEK PANKIVAY, SUITE A06OVERI,A}ID PARK, KAI\TSA-S 66A101.8OO.?48.7S11 . 915.51?.880O o FAX gIg.glZ.BBBO

A. 'Thatf s correct

O. That's because the regional crime lab

report as you have stated deals with the

criminalistics end of it, which is not your area

of expertise?

A. Correct.

O. I I 11 briefly just run through we have

taken a look Mr. Lance referred to the fact

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that there were

r evi ewed tho s e

A. Yes.

toxicology

as well; isreports and you

that right?

O. ,fust briefly for the record state what

the findings were regarding any kind of alcohol or

drug content in the victimA. The findings there were negative for

alcohoL or drugs in the victim.

O. Up on the top part of that report itsays, "Specimen submitted, " and lists blood,

vitreous, is that how you pronounce that?

A. Vi treous .

0. Vi treous ,

al l specimens that

at in order to come

just --

urine, Iiver, brain, those are

are submitted for them to look

to the conclusion yourve

A. Those were submitted. What theyrll do j-s

they will test they will do a screen in blood

and urine and double-check it. In the blood and

the urine they d.idnrt find any alcohol or drugs.

,If they have to do further tests, then they might

check the vitreous and the liver and the brain.

Q. Thi s i s authored by somebody at osbo rn

Laboratories. It I s not done by the doctors or any

of the people here at the medical examinerts

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officei is that right?

A. Correct

O. It t s standard. for you guys to submit

specimens to Osborn Laboratories and receive.

copies of the reports?

A. Correct.

MS. CRAYOI\T: I donrt think I have

anything .el se .

MR. LANCE: No further questions.

(Deposition conluded at 3 : 50 p .m. )

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(Whereupon, it. was stiputated by

counsel and the witness that submis'sion of the

transcribed deposition to the witness forexamination, reading and signing is waived and

that said deposition shall possess the same force

and effect as though read and signed by the

witness. )

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the State

CERTIFICATE

I, Amy L. Farm€rr a Notary Pub1ic for

of Missouti, do hereby certify:

That prior to being examined the witness

Amy L. Farmer

METROPOLITAN COURT REPORTERS, INC :

Attorney for Plaintiff

Attorney for Defendant

was by me duly sworni

That said deposition was taken down by

me in shorthand at the time and place hereinbefore

stated and was thereafter reduced to writing under

my direction;That I am not a relative or employee or

attorney or counsel- of any of the parties, or a

relative or employee of such attorney or counsel,;ror financially interested in the action.

WITNESS my hand and seal this

day of ,2A

FEES DUE

$

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