Opinion ID: 2507905
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence Offered at Trial.

Text: Four types of evidence were introduced at trial on the timing of April's death: (1) defendant's statements; (2) the condition of April's body at the crime scene; (3) the expert testimony of Dr. William Ernoehazy, who testified for the prosecution; and (4) the expert testimony of Dr. Thomas Rogers, who testified for the defense. Detective Bennett confronted defendant with evidence that April had been raped, to which defendant responded, I didn't realize this happened.... When I was kneeling there next to her[,] ... I think it happened right.... Detective Bennett asked, She was already dead then, right? Defendant responded, Yeah. Defendant claimed that after April was dead he had inserted his penis into her vagina, but quickly stopped and did not ejaculate. April's body was found clothed only in a blood-soaked sweatshirt; her pantiesstained by blood and urinehad been removed and were later found in the dirty clothes hamper. The body had a number of stab wounds to the chest and back, and a contusion on the forehead. A defensive wound was found on April's left wrist. While the stab wounds in her chest corresponded to tears in the sweatshirt, the stab wounds in her back did not so correspond. There also was an extensive tear of one to one and one-half inches on the perineum between the vagina and anus, with little visible hemorrhaging from the torn tissue. Penetration had been made by an erect penis or large blunt object. The blood pattern on the body indicated that the sweatshirt had been pulled fairly high up on the chest at the time the wounds were inflicted. Dr. Ernoehazy acknowledged that there was no hemorrhaging in the soft tissue adjacent to the perineal tear, which suggested that April was dead when she was penetrated. Nonetheless, he opined that she was alive at the time she was raped based on the following evidence: April had been stabbed several times in the chest and her ascending and descending aorta were perforated, which would have seriously interfered with circulation to the lower portion of the body. But as no wound penetrated the heart itself, April's heart would have continued to beat for several minutes and sustained full brain function, even though blood pressure would drop significantly and respiration would be shallow. Because there was a lack of drying to the skin around the perineal tear, it indicated a predeath injury that occurred within a short time of the stabbing. Dr. Rogers, a forensic medical expert, based his opinion on an analysis of Dr. Ernoehazy's autopsy report. Rogers indicated that had April been alive at the time the perineal injury was created, there would have been a hemorrhage of the surrounding tissue. Reduced blood pressure may have made this hemorrhage difficult to see without the aid of a microscope, but no hemorrhage at all would indicate that April was not alive at the time of the perineal injury.