Opinion ID: 2257779
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Autopsy Photographs

Text: Defendant contends that the court's decision to admit ten autopsy photographs of Eck was prejudicial and denied him a fair trial. Seven of the pictures depicted the stab wounds on Eck's body. One picture depicted the wound on Eck's heart, which was held in the hands of the medical examiner. Two other pictures depicted the wounds to Eck's liver. These pictures were displayed to the jury on a video projection screen. In some of the pictures, dried blood was visible on Eck's body. We conclude that the pictures were relevant in both the guilt phase and penalty phase, and that the admission of the photographs did not constitute an abuse of discretion. At the guilt phase, the photos corroborated the medical examiner's testimony and supported his conclusion that the stab wound to the heart was fatal and that the two wounds to the liver independently would have caused Eck's death. In addition, the pictures corroborated defendant's confession. The fact that Eck had been stabbed twenty-four times, including once in the heart and twice in the liver, supported the inference that defendant committed the murder purposefully or knowingly. See McDougald, supra, 120 N.J. at 583, 577 A. 2d 419 (upholding the admission of eight autopsy photographs offered to prove that the defendant purposefully or knowingly killed the victim). At the penalty phase, the photographs were relevant to the torture or depravity aggravating factor. The fact that Eck had been stabbed twenty-four times, including several times in the genital area, tends to prove that Eck suffered severe physical pain and supports the inference that defendant intended to inflict severe pain. See State v. Moore, 122 N.J. 420, 469, 585 A. 2d 864 (1991) (holding that autopsy photographs were relevant to the torture or depravity aggravating factor); Bey II, supra, 112 N.J. at 183, 548 A. 2d 887 (determining that photographs offered in support of the torture or depravity aggravating factor must relate to the defendant's intent or the victim's pain). The relevance of these photographs was not outweighed by their potential to prejudice the jury. See N.J.R.E. 403. Although some photographs revealed dried blood and depicted the interior of Eck's body, [t]he presence of blood and gruesome details are not ipso facto grounds for exclusion. DiFrisco II, supra, 137 N.J. at 500, 645 A. 2d 734 (upholding admission at the penalty phase of a photograph of the victim lying in a pool of blood and an x-ray revealing three bullets lodged in his skull); see also Cooper, supra, 151 N.J. at 394, 700 A. 2d 306 (upholding the penalty-phase admission of an autopsy photograph of a six-year-old victim of murder and sexual assault lying on her stomach with her legs spread); Savage, supra, 120 N.J. at 632-33, 577 A. 2d 455 (upholding the admission at both phases of pictures of the victim's dismembered torso); McDougald, supra, 120 N.J. at 583, 577 A. 2d 419 (upholding the admission at both phases of eight photos, including one with a baseball bat protruding from the victim's vagina); Moore, supra, 113 N.J. at 296, 550 A. 2d 117 (upholding penalty-phase admission of pictures of victim that included blood stains).